Wednesday, April 15, 2026

$30m an hour: big oil reaping huge war windfall from consumers, analysis finds

$30m an hour: big oil reaping huge war windfall from consumers, analysis finds

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/15/big-oil-huge-war-windfall-consumers 

Gas prices displayed at an Exxon station on Capitol Hill in Washington
Prices for gasoline at an Exxon filling station on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, last week. Photograph: Douliery Olivier/ABACA/Shutterstock

$30m an hour: big oil reaping huge war windfall from consumers, analysis finds

Exclusive: Climate action blockers including Saudi Arabia, Russia and major fossil fuel firms set to make extra $234bn by end of 2026

The world’s top 100 oil and gas companies banked more than $30m every hour in unearned profit in the first month of the US-Israeli war in Iran, according to exclusive analysis for the Guardian. Saudi Aramco, Gazprom and ExxonMobil are among the biggest beneficiaries of the bonanza, meaning key opponents of climate action continue to prosper.

The conflict pushed the price of oil to an average of $100 (£74) a barrel in March, leading to estimated windfall war profits for the month of $23bn for the companies. Oil and gas supplies will take months to return to pre-war levels and the companies will make $234bn by the end of the year if the oil price continues to average $100. The analysis uses data from a leading intelligence provider, Rystad Energy, analysed by Global Witness.

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