Over $30 million an hour. This is how much the 100 largest oil and gas companies would have earned in the first month of the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran. Huge profits, defined as “unearned” because they are linked to the increase in energy prices caused by the war, which continue to enrich the fossil fuel giants while citizens and businesses deal with increasingly higher costs.
According to an analysis based on data from Rystad Energy and conducted by Global Witness, giants such as Saudi Aramco, Gazprom and ExxonMobil are among the main beneficiaries of this boom. The conflict has effectively pushed the price of oil up to an average of $100 a barrel, generating around $23 billion in extra profits in March alone. If prices remain at these levels, companies could earn up to 234 billion by the end of the year.
It is above all the citizens who pay the bill: more expensive fuel, higher energy bills and a direct impact on the cost of living. Many countries, including Italy, Brazil and South Africa, have cut fuel taxes to ease the burden on consumers, while giving up precious resources for public services.
The push for a tax on extra profits
Faced with these numbers, political pressure is growing to introduce a tax on extra profits. The European Commission is evaluating the request made by several countries, including Italy, Germany and Spain, to ensure that those who benefit economically from the war contribute to alleviating the burden on citizens.
A measure which, according to the ministers involved, could finance temporary aid and contain inflation without further burdening public budgets.
Among the main beneficiaries is undoubtedly Saudi Aramco, which could record war profits of over $25 billion. Russian companies like Rosneft and Lukoil could also rake in nearly $24 billion overall, while Russia’s oil revenue increased by 50% in just one month.
In the US, ExxonMobil could get more than $11 billion in extra profits, followed by Chevron with $9.2 billion and Shell with around $6.8 billion. Meanwhile, the market value of these companies has grown significantly thanks to the increase in stock prices.
Dependence on fossils
For experts, this crisis demonstrates once again how risky dependence on fossil fuels is.
We also talk about it here: We are hostage to fossil fuels: the war in Iran is showing us the true cost of our dependence
The director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, spoke of one of the biggest shocks ever recorded for the global energy market, just as the climate manager of the United Nations, Simon Stiell, issued a clear warning: dependence on fossils undermines energy security and increases costs for countries and citizens.
Renewable energies, on the other hand, represent a more stable way out: they do not depend on geopolitical conflicts or vulnerable trade routes. According to analysts, investing in zero-emission technologies is today the only way to guarantee energy security and price stability. Continuing to focus on fossil fuels means exposing ourselves to new crises, with increasingly serious economic and climate effects. In recent decades, the oil and gas sector has generated average profits of around $1 trillion a year, while also benefiting from enormous public subsidies.
But every global crisis, from the war in Ukraine to the conflict with Iran, demonstrates how fragile this model is. As long as the economy and energy systems remain tied to oil and gas, citizens will pay the highest price.
