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European Oil Giants Post Record Profits as Energy Prices Surge — AI-generated representative image: A European oil refinery and a petrol station sign illustrate the surge in energy prices and record oil company profits.

Editorial Team

Shell, TotalEnergies, Repsol and OMV report sharp quarterly gains amid the Iran war as EU ministers renew windfall tax calls

Europe's largest oil companies more than doubled their profits in the July to September quarter, reaping the benefits of surging crude prices driven by the US-Israeli war on Iran, according to quarterly profit statements compiled by Germany's Der Spiegel on Thursday.

Brent crude stood at $115 a barrel on Thursday, up from $72 before the war, while Dated Brent, the on-the-spot price for North Sea cargoes, reached $120. The spike has pushed petrol, diesel and heating oil costs to record highs across the continent, even as households struggle with rising energy bills.

The profit surge has intensified a political standoff in Brussels, where several governments are pressing for an EU-wide windfall tax on energy companies while ordinary consumers absorb record fuel and heating costs. The contrast between corporate earnings and household hardship has made the issue a flashpoint in European economic policy debates.

Record Quarterly Earnings

British oil and gas giant Shell recorded a profit of $12.1 billion between July and September, a more than twofold increase on both the previous quarter and the same period last year, when it earned $5.43 billion.

France's TotalEnergies increased profits by 127% to $9.1 billion.
Spain's Repsol recorded an almost fivefold increase, from $640.7 million to $3.1 billion.
Austria's OMV increased profits by 68% to $2.36 billion.

The gains come eight months to the day since American and Israeli forces began bombarding Iran, a conflict that has fundamentally reshaped global energy markets.

Calls for a Windfall Tax

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil and his counterparts in Austria, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain have called for an EU-wide windfall tax on the oil giants, similar to the "solidarity levy" imposed by Brussels after the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022.

Speaking after a meeting of EU finance ministers in Ireland last month, Klingbeil said the Commission had been "very reserved" on the issue despite several member states having long called for models to be presented. He insisted action "must happen by the next finance ministers' meeting in October at the latest."

Brussels Defers to Member States

The European Commission rejected Klingbeil's proposal, and October passed with no action from Brussels. EU Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters that the matter remains "in the hands of member states," adding that individual governments "can go ahead and take those decisions on the taxing of windfall profits."

The Commission's position leaves the question of any levy to national capitals rather than a coordinated EU-wide mechanism, despite the coordinated pressure from six finance ministers.

What Lies Ahead

With the October deadline proposed by Klingbeil having passed without action, no EU-wide windfall tax has been agreed. The Commission has indicated that any such measures would need to be adopted by individual member states, leaving the path forward dependent on national policy decisions rather than coordinated European action.