Nine big oil firms on track to share more than £95bn profit two quarters in a row

Windfall for oil corporations such Saudi Aramco and BP comes on back of soaring fuel prices driven by Iran war

The world’s biggest oil companies are on track to amass profits of more than $95bn (£71bn) in the third quarter as the war in the Middle East drives up the price of fossil fuels.

The windfall war profits have sparked calls for oil corporations such as Saudi Aramco and BP to pay for environmental damage and help the world transition towards renewable energy.

Analysis by the investment broker AJ Bell has found that nine of the biggest listed oil producers are on course to make more than $95bn in the three months to the end of September. The windfall came seven months after the US-Israel war on Iran caused a surge in global oil prices to highs above $126 a barrel, and followed a second quarter in which the same businesses made $96bn in profit.

The companies have used the biggest disruption of fossil fuel supplies in the market’s history to bolster their profits, with campaigners warning that millions of households are left to pay the price in higher bills and climate chaos.

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Aramco is expected to top the profits chart for the third quarter. Analysts anticipate the $1.7tn company to report a 7% increase in its quarterly net income to $30bn, even though it was targeted by Iran-backed Houthi forces.

Aramco’s fossil fuel production has made it responsible for more carbon emissions than any company in history, according to the database Carbon Majors, followed by Chevron and ExxonMobil, with Shell and BP also in the top 10.

The London-listed BP published its results for the July to September period last week, reporting quarterly profits of $8.46bn – its biggest since 2008.

The industry’s profits have been driven higher by refining divisions, which have capitalised on higher prices and made up for a supply shortfall after the Iran war in hit shipments through the strait of Hormuz.

The big oil companies “are raking in enormous profits while millions of people struggle to afford their energy bills and the planet burns”, said Mike Childs, of the campaign group Friends of the Earth. “Instead of investing in cheap, homegrown renewables that would drive down bills, strengthen energy security and create new jobs, the fossil fuel industry is fighting for permission to extract even more oil and gas. This would further lock us into a polluting energy system that is driving climate breakdown and exposing communities to extreme heat, flooding and storms.”

Childs added: “We need an energy system that works for people, not one that rewards polluters and leaves the public footing the bill. Ministers must act now to decisively accelerate the transition to renewables, make our homes more energy efficient and end our reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets. And those polluters making billions from the current system must be forced to contribute more to build the cleaner, cheaper energy system we urgently need.”

Robin Wells, the director of the climate activism organisation Fossil Free London, questioned why the UK government continued to subsidise an industry that was making billions in profit each quarter.

“The oil lobby is pushing hard right now for more drilling, even adopting the tactics of grassroots campaigners by holding banners in Parliament Square,” he said. “As they rake in billions they want billions more in tax breaks to develop Rosebank – an oilfield that won’t lower our energy bills by a single penny, because the oil will be exported and sold for the profit of a select few shareholders.”

The UK energy secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, is weighing up whether to allow drilling in the Rosebank oilfield in the North Sea after approving a licence for the less controversial Jackdaw gasfield in October.

Experts estimate Rosebank could emit 1m additional tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2042, against an overall projected UK target of 90m tonnes.

A decision to approve the oilfield would be met with dismay from climate campaigners and some Labour backbenchers who view it as a step away from prioritising net zero.

Shell and Saudi Aramco declined to comment. A spokesperson for BP pointed to comments from its chief executive, Meg O’Neill, at an industry event this year, in which she highlighted the company’s role in responding to the global energy crisis, ensuring supply of diesel and jet fuel.

A spokesperson for Eni said: “[Its profits are a result] of an effective operational and financial management model that first of all enables the company to develop new hydrocarbon resources to meet global demand, which continues to structurally rely on oil and gas to ensure energy security and affordable energy for households and the industries.”

They added that Eni had expanded its energy transition business, including renewables.

Equinor, TotalEnergies, Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips were contacted for comment.