Energy giants are raking in $30 million in windfall profits every hour due to the war with Iran

Global oil and gas companies are earning record profits thanks to the surge in energy prices caused by the military conflict between the U.S. and Israel against Iran. In the first month of the conflict, the 100 largest market players earned about $23 billion in windfall profits, and by the end of 2026, this amount could reach $234 billion, assuming a price of $100 per barrel. 

This is reported by The Guardian, citing an analysis by Rystad Energy and Global Witness.

The main beneficiaries of the situation were Saudi Aramco, the Russian company Gazprom, and the American company ExxonMobil, whose market value rose by $118 billion. In particular, three major Russian companies—Gazprom, Rosneft, and Lukoil—could earn up to an additional $23.9 billion by the end of the year. The 50% increase in Russia’s oil export revenues in March effectively bolsters the Kremlin’s financial resources for waging war against Ukraine.

Experts note that consumers are footing the bill for the oil giants’ record profits through high fuel and energy prices. Analysts at Global Witness emphasize that global crises traditionally translate into windfalls for extractive companies, while ordinary people foot the bill. In this context, there are calls for governments to impose windfall taxes to accelerate the transition to green energy.

In March 2026, Spain purchased the largest shipment of gas from Russia in its history. This occurred against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East, which significantly impacted the structure of energy supplies to Europe.

Reuters: Gazprom has resumed LNG supplies to China from a sanctioned plant.