Profits at 6 European Oil Companies Estimated at $89 Billion in 2026
Key Facts
Global Witness estimated that the profits of the 6 largest European oil companies had reached $89 billion so far in 2026, according to an ITV News report on October 30. The estimate puts the sector’s windfall at the center of debate over energy companies’ gains amid supply disruptions and higher refining margins. It remains an estimate attributed to the group, while the cited sources do not provide a documented year-on-year increase or a consolidated third-quarter total. Several companies reported strong results for the period ended in September, but their profit measures differ, making a single comparable aggregate indirect. Results from BP, Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni show a broadening improvement in profits and cash flow, alongside increases in share buybacks.
BP reported underlying replacement cost profit, the company’s preferred profit measure, of $8.46 billion for the three months ended September 30, up from $2.21 billion a year earlier. On the measure of profit attributable to shareholders, the company reported $4.7 billion for the third quarter and $12.4 billion for the first nine months of 2026. The corresponding figures in 2025 were $1.2 billion for the quarter and $3.5 billion for the nine months. The difference highlights the nature of the measures used: underlying profit does not match net profit attributable to shareholders. BP also said quarterly earnings helped reduce debt by $8.4 billion, to $13.9 billion at the end of the period.
Shell’s adjusted earnings in the third quarter were $10.814 billion, compared with $5.432 billion in the same period of 2025, while income attributable to shareholders reached $12.057 billion. The company attributed the result to strong operational performance in an environment of volatile and higher commodity prices, and record refining margins. Shell said its adjusted earnings were "$10.8 billion" and announced a $5 billion share buyback for the following three months. The move gives shareholders an additional capital return alongside reported earnings, while the figures reflect a widening gap from the same quarter a year earlier. This does not mean Shell’s adjusted measure is the same as the underlying profit measure reported by BP.
TotalEnergies reported adjusted net income of $9.1 billion and cash flow of $12.3 billion in the third quarter. It also announced $2.5 billion in share buybacks spread across the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027. The company’s European refining margin indicator rose to $33.2 per barrel in the third quarter, from $13.5 in the second quarter and $11.4 in the first quarter. The indicator’s path through the year suggests refining supported the company’s results, alongside what Shell described as a higher and volatile commodity-price environment. The buyback plans at both companies direct part of their cash flows toward shareholder returns in the coming months.
In Italy, Eni’s adjusted net profit rose to 2.8 billion euros in the third quarter, more than doubling year on year, the company said. Eni also raised its 2026 share buyback program to 3.8 billion euros. Globally, Global Witness said the 5 largest oil companies recorded profits of $48 billion in the second quarter, their highest quarterly total since the 2022 energy price crisis and more than double the $22 billion in first-quarter profits. These figures provide broader context for the gains the group identified at European companies, though the companies covered, periods and profit measures differ across the estimates. Global Witness also said BP, Shell and TotalEnergies had made $252 billion since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 through the first quarter of 2026.
BP Chief Executive Meg O’Neill said the company’s refineries were "operating near capacity" to help keep oil supplies flowing amid market disruption and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, ITV News reported. The same day, the report said oil reached $117 per barrel, up 2%, and BP shares rose 2%. SHEL shares closed at 108.69 and TTE at 95.33 in EL7 data for October 30, with no listing currency specified in the data provided here. These moves came as Greenpeace, citing Eurostat, reported that annual eurozone inflation rose to 3.8% in September from 3.2% in August, with energy prices up 18.8% year on year. The issue now moves to two political milestones in November: the opening of COP31 in Turkey on November 9, and the start of the next round of global tax treaty negotiations in Kenya on November 30.