Giant fossil fuel companies made about $12,000 in the time it took you to read this headline
By Laura Paddison, CNN
(CNN) — Six of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies are on track to make almost $3,000 in profits every single second this year, according to a new report, as households across the world grapple with soaring energy prices and inflation, which are driving a cost-of-living crisis.
Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon and TotalEnergies will make $2,967 a second in profits in 2026, an analysis from the non-profit Oxfam International has found. It marks an increase of nearly $37 million a day compared to their 2025 profits.
The total projected fossil fuel profits for 2026 for all six companies stand at approximately $94 billion, the analysis found.
Oil and gas companies’ profits are soaring as the Iran conflict continues. Iran’s heavy restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for the oil and gas industry, have caused global oil prices to soar. Oil prices were pushed to an average of more than $100 a barrel in March.
“Fossil fuel corporations profit from geopolitical instability and subsequently inequality, as these disruptions lead to higher prices and higher profits,” said Mariana Paoli, the climate policy lead at Oxfam International.
The global ripples have been significant. While oil and gas companies make huge profits, people across the world are struggling with high costs of living, including soaring energy bills and punishing prices at the gas pumps.
Gas is averaging $4 a gallon in the United States, piling more pressure onto Americans already struggling with high grocery prices and housing costs.
Asian countries, many of which rely heavily on oil transported through the Strait of Hormuz, are among those hardest hit. Some governments have ordered people to work from home and are trialling four-day work weeks to cut fuel consumption, gas stations are rationing fuel and some hospitals are running out of supplies.
Fuel shortages have also affected sub-Saharan African countries, leading some to ration fuel.
The past few years of global conflict, including Russia’s war on Ukraine, have proved lucrative for oil and gas companies. Major fossil fuel companies made nearly half a trillion in profits in the four years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to an analysis by non-profit Global Witness in February.
An analysis by Rystad Energy and the Guardian this month found the world’s top 100 oil and gas companies made more than $30 million an hour — $8,333 a second — in the first month of the Iran war.
Oil companies’ bumper profits, however, are not being channelled into a transition to clean energy and away from planet-heating oil and gas. Instead, many companies have scaled back climate commitments.
BP has slashed planned investment in renewable energy and increased oil and gas spending, Shell has watered down its 2030 targets to cut climate pollution and Exxon has cut planned spending on low carbon energy.
Shell declined to comment. Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon and TotalEnergies did not respond to a request for comment.
Scott Lauermann, a spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute said the report “misreads energy markets and overlooks the real costs of today’s volatility, including disruptions to production, shipping, refining, and market transactions,” adding, “This is a cyclical industry that requires sustained investment to maintain supply during a period of disruption and meet growing energy needs.”
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