by Ceren Sagir

Social affairs reporter

BP profits have more than doubled as the Iran war sends prices soaring, seeing the world’s five leading oil “supermajors” rake in a total $48bn (£35.7bn) in the second quarter of 2026.

The oil giant reported its highest quarterly profits yesterday, seeing a gain of $5.73 billion (£4.27bn) in the three months to the end of June, up $2.5bn (1.86bn) from the quarter before.

It came just days after Shell posted its second-highest quarterly earnings on record after months of market volatility caused by the US and Israeli war on the Middle East. 

Europe’s largest oil company doubled its net profit to almost $10bn (£7.44bn).

Even US President Donald Trump blasted oil companies for “making too much money based on a shortage” after Chevron and ExxonMobil also reported sharp profit increases this week.

He said the companies should return some of their profits to the public, adding: “I don’t like it.”

But Mr Trump also claimed that Britain needs to open up North Sea oil, as the nation was “sitting on top of gold.”

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has left the door open for future drilling, confirming he told Mr Trump “we can’t ignore” the resources there. 

Analysis by Global Witness shows that the world’s five leading oil “supermajors” recorded a total $48bn (£35.7bn) profit in the second quarter of 2026, their most lucrative quarter since the height of the 2022 energy price crisis.

Helped by surging oil prices during the US-Israeli war on Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, BP, Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil and Chevron banked the equivalent of $535 million (£398m) every day between April and June. 

This equates to $22m (£16m) profit every hour, or $6,000 (£4,463) every second. 

Global Witness senior campaigner Flossie Boyd said that amid wildfires ravaging Europe, droughts and the ongoing war hiking fuel price, “it’s scandalous that the oil giants turbo-charging climate breakdown are cashing in on our misery.”

She said: “This is the second time in four years we’ve seen oil giants cash in on crisis and it’s time to break the cycle. 

“Why should we face soaring food costs, spiralling energy bills, and a lack of protection from extreme heat while Big Oil firms line their executives’ pockets?

“This summer should be a wake-up call to governments everywhere – it’s time to pivot away from planet-heating fossil fuels and start fairly taxing Big Oil to fund the protections we need – more fire and flood defences, wind and solar roll-outs and climate-resilient infrastructure.”

Clemence Dubois, of international environment group 350.org, echoed the sentiment, saying the profits “feel almost criminal,” while Friends of the Earth’s Rosie Downes said that “clearly, not everyone is feeling the pain of the energy crisis.”

End Fuel Poverty Coalition co-ordinator Simon Francis warned that BP’s “next move is to look to cash in and walk away from a North Sea where 90 per cent of commercially viable fossil fuels have been extracted and the profits banked.”

Last week, the company said it was putting its North Sea operations up for sale after 60 years of production.

Mr Francis said that the lesson was not to hand more tax breaks to the multi-billion-dollar industry, but to use windfall tax receipts to clear the record energy debt households built up during the crisis. 

He said: “As bills remain far above pre-crisis levels, the route out of crisis means breaking the link between electricity prices and volatile gas, reforming electricity prices and providing support for people to improve their homes. 

“In the meantime, we ask ministers to also provide more support by further expanding the Warm Homes Discount and reforming Cold Weather Payments.”

In response to Mr Trump’s comments on the North Sea, Uplift executive director Tessa Khan said the US president was “peddling a fantasy” on an “ultra-mature basin that has been in decline for years.”

She said: “Andy Burnham should not take advice from a man who thinks climate change is a con job and should instead double down on shifting away from our current fossil fuel dependence as quickly as possible.”