BP has reported underlying profits of $3.2 billion (£2.4 billion) for the first quarter of 2026, more than double the figure from a year earlier, after oil and gas prices surged following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.
The result beat analyst expectations and was driven largely by BP’s oil trading division, which posted profits of $2.5 billion (£1.84 billion) for the quarter, up from just $103 million (£76.2 million) a year ago.
New analysis by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition shows that energy firms posted over £23.1 billion in profit from UK operations in 2025, before any Iran conflict windfall had been counted.
A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said:
“These astronomical profits are a startling reminder that when conflict drives up the price of oil and gas, energy companies profit and households pay. That is not a coincidence, it is a consequence of the way our energy system is structured.
“While the energy industry lobbies against the Energy Profits Levy, we are now seeing the level of profits being posted which shows why it is so necessary.
“Household bills are forecast to surge again from July. The Government must respond with emergency support for the hardest-hit households and accelerate the shift to a renewables-led energy system that insulates people from price shocks caused by our exposure to oil and gas markets.”
Robert Palmer, Uplift deputy director, said:
“It’s appalling that while millions are worrying over energy bills, oil giants like BP are raking in billions.
“Today the oil major has been given a further boost with an unearned windfall because of the Iran conflict. It’s just the first of the bumper profits oil and gas firms will make as this crisis drags on.
“Worse, BP is also rowing back on the very things, like investment in wind energy and solar, that will get us off the fossil fuel rollercoaster. It wants us to stay hooked on oil and gas so it can keep profiting.
“The only sensible way to counter energy shocks is by getting off oil and gas through renewables and upgrading our homes with solar power and heat pumps.
“BP clearly has no commercial interest in transitioning away from fossil fuels – and shows no concern for the public’s need for an affordable energy supply and a safe climate.”
The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has written to Ministers calling for emergency support for the hardest-hit households ahead of the July price cap rise, including those on prepayment meters, off-gas-grid homes relying on heating oil and LPG, and households in energy debt.