Tag: Energy firm profits

The UK’s wealthiest are getting wealthier according to new study

The Sunday Times Rich List, published online today with the full print edition following on Sunday, documents the fortunes of the UK’s 350 wealthiest individuals and families.

Their combined wealth has risen to £784 billion, a sum larger than the annual GDP of Belgium, Sweden and Israel combined, even as the number of UK billionaires has fallen from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 157 today.

Today’s release covers the top 20. The full list, published Sunday, will reveal where energy company owners and executives sit in the rankings.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“The Sunday Times Rich List is an annual reminder of where wealth accumulates in the UK economy, and where the costs fall.

“As the combined wealth of Britain’s 350 richest has risen, the rest of the country faces a renewed cost of living crisis.

“In less than two weeks, Ofgem will announce how much average energy bills will increase starting 1 July. But when the full Rich List is published on Sunday, it will be worth looking for the energy names on it who are profiting from high energy costs.

“We already know that energy firms made £26.2 billion in profit in just the first three months of 2026 and oil and gas company bosses have seen their personal stakes in the industry rise as conflict in the Middle East pushes up the prices households pay.

“The Rich List documents who has gained from the system and now the Government needs to correct the balance. Taxing excess wealth and profiteering fairly could mean revenues to support struggling households, cut energy debts and invest in the insulation and renewable energy that will get the country off the fossil fuel price rollercoaster.”

Cost of living topped list of voters’ concerns going into elections

New polling from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), conducted by More in Common in the days before the elections, reveals that the cost of living crisis was the dominant concern for voters going to the polls, with energy bills the single biggest pressure driving that anxiety.

In England, the cost of living was the top issue determining voting intention, cited by 39% of voters, with energy bills (62%), food shopping (61%) and fuel costs (39%) the three biggest specific concerns.

In Scotland, tackling the cost of living came top at 50%, with energy bills (62%), food shopping (63%) and fuel costs (39%) again the leading pressures.

In Wales, the cost of living was cited by 49% of voters as the top issue, with energy bills and food bills (both 61%) and fuel costs (46%) the primary concerns.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said:

“Voters’ number one cost of living concern going into the Scottish, Welsh and English elections was energy bills, and the results reflect a demand for bold action that has been too slow to materialise.

“Yet energy companies generated over £26.2 billion in profits in the first three months of 2026 alone, and some party leaders are pushing to hand them a further tax break. 74% of the public believe it is morally wrong for oil and gas companies to profit by billions from this crisis, and voters are right to be angry.

“The challenge now is for governments at every level to translate voters’ clear priorities into action. That means holding the line on the Windfall Tax, using those revenues to protect households from the July price rise, and ending the over-reliance on expensive oil and gas that has driven this crisis from the start.”

The polling also challenges any reading of the results as a mandate for rolling back the drive for clean energy, which is designed to help reduce the UK’s exposure to volatile oil and gas prices.

In England, only 12% of those intending to vote Reform cited reversing climate policies as a driver of their support. In Scotland, the figure was just 7% among potential Reform voters and 5% among those planning to vote Conservative. In Wales, only around one in ten Reform voters said reversing climate policies was an important issue.

Support for renewable energy remains strong across all three nations. In England, 70% of voters back onshore wind, 72% back offshore wind and 73% back solar farms.

Even among potential Reform voters, majorities support onshore wind (56%), offshore wind (66%) and solar farms (59%). In Scotland, support for offshore wind among potential Reform voters stood at 65%. In Wales, nearly six in ten voters overall said a party’s commitment to tackling climate change was an important issue in the Senedd election.

£26.2 billion in energy industry profits posted since start of 2026

Energy companies have generated profits of over £26.2 billion in the first three months of 2026, with around £3 billion generated on the firms’ UK operations. [1]

The UK generated returns equate to £102 in profit for every household in the UK in just three months. [2]

The figures have been compiled following trading updates by a host of household name energy firms in recent weeks as the conflict with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz delivered a significant war windfall for oil and gas firms at the same time as households face rising bills.

Among the results included in the figures are Equinor, the UK’s biggest gas supplier, which said it had generated £7.19 billion in profit in Q1 2026. Shell’s announcement of £5.07 billion in profits is also included with the firm looking to reduce its UK tax liability by around £1.3 billion through its Adura joint venture with Equinor, which pools the two firms’ North Sea exploration assets.

TotalEnergies has followed a similar path to Adura, spinning off its UK North Sea assets into NEO NEXT+, now billing itself as the largest producer on the UK Continental Shelf. The parent company posted adjusted net income of £4 billion for the quarter, up from £3.1 billion a year earlier and has announced a share buyback and increased dividends.

BP reported underlying profits of £2.4 billion for the first three months of the year, more than double the figure from a year earlier, driven largely by its oil trading division. 

Other firms included in the analysis include Chevron and Scottish Power owner Iberdrola. The Spanish-based firm reported an 11% rise in adjusted net profit in Q1 2026, with growth driven substantially by its regulated network operations in the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, new analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit found that the average household’s energy bills will have been £4,800 (87%) higher over the five years since the start of the gas crisis in late 2021, with the coming winter likely to add even more to these extra costs.

Cornwall Insight forecasts average household energy bills will rise by £201 a year from 1 July while homes on heating oil and LPG energy have already seen energy costs soar, prompting the Government to provide limited emergency relief and extend support for these households to move off oil and gas. 

In a new poll from Survation, 74% of the public felt that it is morally wrong for oil and gas companies to profit from the energy crisis caused by the Iran war [3]. The figures back up previous End Fuel Poverty Coalition polling which showed that the public support the Windfall Tax by a margin of two to one.

Energy company bosses saw their own personal wealth grow off the back of the current crisis, with Harbour Energy’s Linda Z Cook seeing the value of her shareholding rise by more than £4 million to £26 million in just the first four weeks of the latest conflict.

Harbour has claimed in a trading update that the Middle East conflict has created ‘unprecedented disruption’ to energy markets, while quietly more than doubling the amount of surplus cash (known as ‘free cash flow’) for 2026 to £1.02 billion ($1.4 billion) on the back of rising oil and gas prices.

Simon Francis, Coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said:

“Around a quarter of every energy bill is taken in profit by a range of firms involved in the industry and that figure could well grow thanks to the war profits still being generated by the energy industry.

“Not only do these firms profit off the back of a war which has killed thousands of civilians, but the profits are also built on the backs of financial suffering in UK households.

“It can’t be right that while the public see their energy bills increase, energy firms make billions and employ rafts of accountants to maximise their profits and lobbyists to campaign against the Windfall Tax.

“The only winners from the conflict with Iran appear to be the oil and gas giants who control the prices we pay. The sooner we get off the fossil fuel price rollercoaster through increased energy efficiency of buildings and more renewables, the better.”

Jan Shortt, General Secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, commented:

“It is an appalling situation when energy companies profit from a humanitarian crisis and the public pay the price of ever increasing household bills.

“It is time for a real and urgent push to engage with renewable energy and sustainable energy rather than fossil fuels.

“We are concerned that increasing energy bills will mean that those who need heat even in the warmer weather due to their health conditions will be forced to cut down their consumption.

“The billions going into the coffers of energy companies like Shell and BP should be used to offset the increase in household energy bills so that hot food and heating homes when necessary doesn’t mean going into debt.”

Former North Sea oil worker, Danielle Dale, 51 from Aberdeenshire, said:

“I worked in operations for fossil fuel production, but I moved on. I saw that the world was changing and we needed to create a thriving, sustainable future. The question we should be asking the oil and gas industry is this: can we really call it profit when the true cost is counted in vanishing species, destabilised climates, and families choosing between heating and eating?”

ENDS

All currencies converted where necessary to GBP based on the Xe.com exchange rate at the time of results being posted.

[1] The data in this tracker has been collated from publicly available company reports and industry sources, with profits adjusted where possible to reflect UK operations. For multinational businesses, UK profit estimates are based on disclosed proportions of revenue, production, or operating assets attributable to the UK, or on reasonable assumptions using sector benchmarks where disclosure is limited. The figures are indicative, providing a consistent basis to assess trends in UK energy-sector profitability and its relationship to household energy costs. These measures differ from company to company due to reporting processes and regulatory requirements in different jurisdictions. In determining which measure of profitability to use, the research has prioritised the measure preferred in the company’s own accounts. Any totals declared here include offsetting any losses made by firms in the period cited. In total, the tracker now monitors over 30 firms – only a selection of these firms have posted Q1 2026 profits which are included in this analysis. These firms were selected by the researchers to create a cross section of the energy industry, to reflect those most frequently covered in the media and to ensure the main UK operators are represented.

Full information available at: https://www.endfuelpoverty.org.uk/news/energy-firm-profits-tracker/ 

Data as at 7 May 2026.

The data was compiled by freelance business journalist David Craik and examined and peer-reviewed by a business analyst with board-level experience within complex multinational businesses. David’s experience has included writing business and city news and features for national newspapers and magazines such as The Daily Mirror, Sunday Times, Wall Street Journal, Scotsman and Daily Express. Much of his content focuses on company financial results and reports in the energy sector and on personal finance issues including wealth management, property, investing and managing household budgets and bills.

[2] £2,965,733,324 estimated profit on UK operations, divided by 29,000,000 households in the UK = £102.27. (29m figure from ONS, 2025 data).

[3] The poll of 2,017 18+ adults was conducted by Survation for NEON, 29th April – 1st May 2026. Results were weighted to be reflective of the UK population.

Featured image: © Greenpeace. Greenpeace activists project the truth about the source of Shell’s huge profits onto their global headquarters by the Thames in London as well as next to a Shell petrol station. The projections include the messages “They Profit We Pay”, “War Profiteers”, “At Least We are Making Billions”, “War Profits HQ” and “Making a killing”.

Shell posts £5 billion profits in first three months of 2026

Shell has reported £5.07 billion ($6.9 billion) in adjusted earnings for the first quarter of the year, more than double what it made in profits during the previous three months.

Q1 profits figures have already been reported by BP, Equinor and TotalEnergies, which have seen financial gains driven directly by the conflict pushing up energy prices.

Meanwhile, in a trading update, Harbour Energy has said that the Middle East conflict has created ‘unprecedented disruption’ to energy markets, but the firm has more than doubled its amount of surplus cash (known as ‘free cash flow’) for 2026 to £1.02 billion ($1.4 billion).

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“Shell’s outrageous results prove what every household knows: that the Middle East conflict is driving profits for energy firms while families across Britain dread the next bill landing on their doormat.

“But while the profits of North Sea oil and gas giants soar and the cost of living keeps rising, these same companies are actively lobbying against windfall taxes and calling for tax cuts.

“What will make a real difference to energy bills is breaking the link between electricity prices and gas markets, accelerating home insulation and clean heating while ensuring that the billions in profits made during this crisis are taxed and used to provide proper support for the households who need it most. That is the only route out of this continuous energy crisis.”

Equinor’s bumper quarter adds to energy industry profits

Equinor, the Norwegian energy giant, has reported adjusted operating income of £7.19 billion for the first quarter of 2026 as production hit a record high.

The company is handing £1.1 billion back to shareholders through buybacks this year, on top of a quarterly dividend approved this week.

Its CEO pointed to geopolitical instability and disrupted energy flows as factors driving strong results, the kind of global volatility that has pushed UK household energy bills up again.

Equinor is a central part of the UK energy market. Through its Adura joint venture with Shell it extracts fossil fuels from the North Sea. Through its long-term supply deal with Centrica it imports Norwegian gas directly. It is also the co-owner of the proposed Rosebank oil field, one of the most politically contested undeveloped projects in UK waters.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“While millions of UK households face annual bills forecast to rise to nearly £2,000 from July, Equinor is posting more massive profits and handing millions to its shareholders through share buy backs and dividends.

“This company helps set the price we pay for our gas through its role extracting fossil fuels from the UK North Sea via a venture with Shell and through its deal with Centrica to import Norwegian gas.

“These results are a reminder of exactly who gains from the Iran conflict and the UK’s continued dependence on fossil fuels. The companies profiting from global market volatility are the same ones lobbying to lock households into an expensive and volatile energy system for decades to come, meaning profits flow to their executives and shareholders.

“What will make a real difference is breaking the link between electricity prices and gas markets, accelerating home insulation and clean heating while ensuring that the billions in profits made during this crisis are taxed and used to provide proper support for the households who need it most. That is the only route out of this continuous energy crisis.”

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said:

“Once again, oil giant Equinor – the UK’s biggest gas supplier – is raking in huge profits from a conflict that’s pushing up bills for everyone else.

“Like BP last week, these are unearned windfall profits driven by Trump’s war with Iran. Yet the industry still has the audacity to lobby the UK government for huge tax cuts.

“Equinor now wants to cash in even more by developing the Rosebank oil field, which would be a terrible deal for the UK. Rosebank wouldn’t lower our bills, most of the oil would be exported, and it would see the UK breach its climate commitments.

“This government must put the needs of the British public – for affordable energy and a safe climate – ahead of this Norwegian oil giant’s relentless pursuit of profit.

“The only way to protect ourselves from global energy shocks is to shift to renewables and help more households to switch away from oil and gas, with more support for solar, heat pumps and EVs. That makes a lot more sense in today’s world than continuing to allow a handful of oil firms, like Equinor, get obscenely rich at our expense.”

Fresh profits highlight contrast between industry returns and bills

Scottish Power owners, Iberdrola have reported a rise in profits in the first quarter of 2026, claiming growth is driven substantially by its regulated network operations in the United Kingdom.

The total profits made by the firm in the UK amount to just under £1 billion in the first three months of the year alone, up from £0.8 billion in the first quarter of 2025 – a 19% increase year on year [pdf, p59 & 66].

TotalEnergies, which via its NEO NEXT+ arm calls itself the largest producer on the UK Continental Shelf, has also posted improved results. Adjusted net income (a profit measure) for the firm’s first quarter came in at $5.4 billion (£4bn), up from $4.2bn (£3.1bn) in Q1 last year and it has now launched a share buyback plan and increased dividends for shareholders.

Questions are also being asked about TotalEnergies’ broader role in UK energy supply, including a government gas contract worth up to £8 billion to supply public sector buildings, from Downing Street to schools and hospitals.

The announcements come after BP’s 2026 Q1 results prompted anger among the public. A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty commented:

“Another good day for the energy industry means another kick in the teeth for consumers.

“Energy network infrastructure is generating strong and growing returns for shareholders, yet these returns ultimately mean higher bills for households.

“Meanwhile, the consolidation of North Sea assets into ever-larger corporate entities reveals where this industry is heading, companies positioning themselves to extract maximum profit from a dying basin while bills remain high.

“As well as taxing profits to ensure Ministers can provide help to those in fuel poverty, the Government must focus on reforms that will actually bring energy bills down. That means breaking the link between electricity prices and volatile gas markets and accelerating insulation and clean heat programmes.”

BP profits more than double as Iran conflict delivers war windfall

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.

Energy profits up as households brace for higher bills

Energy firms posted over £23.1 billion in profit from UK operations in 2025, according to new analysis of company reports. [1]

The figures, based on the returns of 30 companies heavily involved in the UK energy system, are an increase from £22.7 billion on 2024 numbers, but a slight decrease from the £27.6 billion posted in 2023 during the height of the Russian-triggered price shock.

The data does not take into account returns generated by the US-Israel conflict with Iran, where BP has already suggested it will make ‘exceptional’ returns and Shell could bank up to £5 billion in oil price profits. The next corporate profits season starts on Tuesday with BP posting its quarter one results.

Households on heating oil and LPG energy have already seen energy costs soar, prompting the Government to provide limited emergency relief and extend support for these households to move off oil and gas.

All households will see an increase in energy bills from 1 July when the next Ofgem price cap period starts.

According to the Common Wealth think tank, around a quarter of an energy bill is taken in profit by a range of firms involved in the industry. But while the Windfall Tax continues to be attacked by corporate lobbyists, the public back the Tax by a margin of two to one and ministers last week extended the tax paid by some energy giants.

Additionally, energy company bosses have been seeing their personal wealth grow off the  back of the current crisis, with Harbour Energy’s Linda Z Cook seeing the value of her shareholding rise by more than £4 million to £26 million in just the first four weeks of the conflict.

Simon Francis, The End Fuel Poverty Coalition said:

“These figures are a damning verdict on an energy system that is failing the people it is supposed to serve.

“Households were already struggling with rising bills before Russia invaded Ukraine and sent gas prices through the roof. Now Trump’s war in Iran is delivering a third hammer blow.

“While households face another bill rise in July and millions remain trapped in fuel poverty, the companies that control our energy supply are cashing in.”

Robert Palmer, Uplift Deputy Director, said:

“It’s appalling that while millions are worrying over energy bills, these figures show that even before the war in Iran, energy companies were raking in billions of profits.

“The war is going to make all of this worse – with higher energy bills for most of us, while around the world oil companies are making an obscene $30 million (£22 million) an hour in unearned profits.

“The UK’s dependence on oil and gas is making all of us poorer. All except for the oil bosses and their shareholders who, once again, are profiting at our expense.

“That’s why we must ramp up renewables, and upgrade homes with solar power, batteries and heat pumps. It is the only way to insulate ourselves from energy shocks and protect the climate. We also need to support those who need it most with financial help. We should be putting these profits back in people’s pockets, not making the public pay for what is a humanitarian and economic disaster.”

Researchers working for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition examined the declared profits of 30 energy firms, from across the industry, including producers such as Shell and Equinor, grid operators including National Grid and UK Power Networks and suppliers such as British Gas, as well as energy trading companies. Any firms posting losses in this period are taken into account and five firms monitored are yet to file accounts for 2025.

ENDS

[1] The data in this tracker has been collated from publicly available company reports and industry sources, with profits adjusted where possible to reflect UK operations. For multinational businesses, UK profit estimates are based on disclosed proportions of revenue, production, or operating assets attributable to the UK, or on reasonable assumptions using sector benchmarks where disclosure is limited. The figures are indicative, providing a consistent basis to assess trends in UK energy-sector profitability and its relationship to household energy costs. These measures differ from company to company due to reporting processes and regulatory requirements in different jurisdictions. In determining which measure of profitability to use, the research has prioritised the measure preferred in the company’s own accounts. The totals declared here include offsetting any losses made by some of the firms in some years of the period examined. 30 firms were monitored, with 26 making a profit over 5 years. One is yet to post results. These firms were selected by the researchers to create a cross section of the energy industry and to reflect those most frequently covered in the media.

Full information available at: https://www.endfuelpoverty.org.uk/news/energy-firm-profits-tracker/

Data as at 31 March 2026.

The data was compiled by freelance business journalist David Craik and examined and peer-reviewed by a business analyst with board-level experience within complex multinational businesses.

David’s experience has included writing business and city news and features for national newspapers and magazines such as The Daily Mirror, Sunday Times, Wall Street Journal, Scotsman and Daily Express. Much of his content focuses on company financial results and reports in the energy sector and on personal finance issues including wealth management, property, investing and managing household budgets and bills.

Wall Street counts its winnings as UK households suffer

As ordinary households brace for higher energy bills and rising inflation driven by the Iran war, the world’s largest investment firms have watched their stakes in oil and gas companies surge in value. The numbers are staggering.

The Mirror has revealed that BlackRock, the New York-based asset manager, oversees more than £10 trillion in assets on behalf of governments, pension funds, and wealthy individuals. It is also the largest shareholder in Centrica, the owner of British Gas.

Since the Iran war erupted at the end of February, the value of BlackRock’s stake in Centrica has jumped by more than £30 million. Its holdings in Shell have leapt by £860 million. Its BP investments are up £580 million. It also holds stakes in Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.

It is not just BlackRock. German chemicals giant BASF sold a 5% stake in North Sea producer Harbour Energy in late March, weeks after the war began, netting £36 million more than it would have received before the crisis.

Meanwhile, Harbour Energy chief executive Linda Z Cook has seen her personal shareholding rise by millions.

The knock-on effects for UK households, already navigating a cost of living crisis, will be felt at the petrol pump, on energy bills and through wider inflation.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“Behind these share price gains sit a small group of the world’s most powerful investment firms. These are not passive bystanders. They are the financial architecture that keeps oil and gas profits flowing from the pockets of ordinary people into the pockets of those who already have the most.

“That the world’s biggest investment firms will have seen their holdings surge in value as ordinary households face soaring bills will sicken anyone struggling with the economic consequences of Trump’s conflict.

“And it is worth remembering that these firms are also among the most powerful lobbying voices in global financial markets.

“The concentration of energy wealth in the hands of a small number of giant investment firms underlines why a strong windfall tax, with revenues redirected to households, is not just fair, it is essential.

“If the Government is serious about using these revenues to help people struggling with their bills, it must resist the lobbying power of an industry whose backers have rarely had it so good.”

Energy rich list reveals bosses whose fortunes surge as bills soar

The bosses of some of Britain’s biggest energy companies have seen their personal fortunes surge by millions of pounds as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.

Analysis of shareholdings declared in annual reports and share price movements between 26 February and 27 March 2026 shows how energy chiefs may have benefited from the crisis, even as millions of households brace for a sharp rise in bills.

Among them, Harbour Energy’s Linda Z Cook saw the value of her shareholding rise by more than £4 million to £26 million.

Harbour accounts for around 15 per cent of the UK’s domestic oil and gas output and has been led by American Cook since 2021. Prior to leading the firm, which she owns almost 9 million shares in, Cook spent much of her earlier career at Shell.

Meanwhile Shell’s Wael Sawan added nearly £1.8 million to take his stake to £13.2 million. Sawan joined Shell as an engineer in 1997 and spent the early part of his career in Oman before rising through the ranks to lead Shell’s operations in Qatar, including overseeing its liquefied natural gas division.

At Centrica, Chris O’Shea saw the value of his shares rise by over £300,000, even as the British Gas owner’s boss told the BBC this month that higher household bills were “inescapable” and had previously said that it was “impossible to justify” his salary and rewards package.

At BP, incoming chief executive Meg O’Neill only took the reins on 1 April, but interim boss Carol Howle saw her shares grow by over £500,000 during the period. Departed chief executive Murray Auchincloss, who held more than 1.8 million shares at the time of his departure, could have seen his stake rise to £10.6 million at current prices.

The picture is even more dramatic among the global giants whose share prices have been supercharged by the Middle East conflict.

Chevron chief executive Michael Wirth saw the value of his near two-million-share stake rise by more than £44 million in a single month, taking his total holding to more than £312 million.

ExxonMobil’s Darren Woods added over £5 million to sit at more than £40 million, and TotalEnergies chief Patrick Pouyanné’s stake now stands at £39 million. Equinor, the Norwegian state-backed firm that supplies much of the gas the UK depends on, saw its shares rise more than 45 per cent, adding nearly £700,000 to the personal stake of chief executive Anders Opedal.

Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said

“There are very few winners from the conflict in the Middle East, and most of those are the wealthy oil and gas bosses who help set the prices we all pay for our energy.

“But while these fossil fuel chiefs argue for more drilling in the North Sea and count the profits they will make from any new exploration, millions of UK households are facing the prospect of spending more than a tenth of their income just to keep the lights on and the heating running.

“Politicians must show whose side they are on: the households struggling with energy bills, or the millionaires calling for an early end to the Windfall Tax on North Sea profits.”

The figures come as wholesale gas prices remain at levels not seen since 2023. Average household energy bills are forecast to rise to £1,929 from 1 July 2026, a 18 per cent increase on the current cap.

Separate End Fuel Poverty Coalition data shows that energy firms have already made more than £125 billion in profits on their UK operations since 2020. At current energy prices, the Government stands to collect substantial additional tax revenue via the Energy Profits Levy.

The Coalition has called on the Government to direct that revenue towards households trapped in energy debt and those who will suffer most from a sharp rise in bills as a result of the conflict.

Caitlin Boswell, interim Deputy Director at Tax Justice UK said

“Different parts of the economy are set to make eye-watering paydays as they spot opportunities for profiteering from the US-Israeli war on Iran and immense human suffering, while ordinary people see their energy bills sky-rocket.

“That’s why the Chancellor should urgently implement excess profits taxes on energy, defence and banking sectors – called for by wider civil society – to send a clear message that the UK won’t accept profiteering from war and crisis.

“This needs to be coupled with tax system reform that ensures the massive asset price rises, like stocks in energy companies, are taxed fairly. Failing to do so will see stock price explosions channel enormous sums of money to the pockets of the super-rich, while millions in the UK are made more vulnerable to the cost of living crisis.”

Deputy director of Uplift, Robert Palmer, added:

“It’s appalling that while millions are worrying over their energy bills, we are seeing energy barons rake in millions of profits. One North Sea CEO has seen their wealth increase £4 million since the start of the Iran conflict – that’s an extra million a week.

“What’s more these companies are using this crisis to call for even more drilling in the North Sea. This would not take a penny off bills, but would lock us into an unaffordable energy supply for longer and just increase oil company profits even more.

“The oil and gas industry has been clear that the only way they would consider investing in the North Sea now, an ultra-mature and high cost basin, is if the government removes the windfall tax, which is shameful. We need political leaders who put bill-payers before billionaires and not give in to their demands.”

The data also shows that 12 of the world’s biggest energy companies added more than £233 billion in combined market value in a single month. Market capitalisation is one of the most widely used measures of a company’s overall financial health and the confidence investors place in its future earnings.

When market capitalisation rises sharply, it signals that financial markets expect the company to generate significantly higher profits in the coming months and years. Over the same period (26 February to 27 March 2026), the general FTSE 100 Index of leading UK share prices has fallen by nearly 9%.

Jonathan Bean, Fuel Poverty Action spokesperson, said:

“The Government must act urgently to stop more obscene energy profiteering from war, which will leave millions unable to afford the essential energy they need.  Windfall tax loopholes must be removed and fair wealth taxes introduced.”

ENDS

All shareholding valuations are derived from closing share prices on 26 February and 27 March 2026. All non-UK currencies have been converted using the mid-market rate as per the relevant date. Being featured on this list or in this news story does not imply any wrongdoing on the part of companies or individuals and all share allocations have been made in line with standard remuneration packages.

Full data is available here (pdf).

Sources for shareholdings

Linda Z Cook / Harbour Energy

Harbour Energy Annual Report and Accounts 2025, Directors’ Remuneration Report

https://www.harbourenergy.com/media/a11hxbdn/harbour-energy-annual-report-accounts-2025_web.pdf

Wael Sawan / Shell

Shell Annual Report and Accounts 2025, Directors’ Remuneration Report

https://www.shell.com/investors/results-and-reporting/annual-report.html

Chris O’Shea / Centrica

Centrica Annual Report and Accounts 2025, Directors’ Remuneration Report

https://www.centrica.com/media/ckfb0qxj/annual-report-and-accounts-2025-untagged.pdf Page 101

Carol Howle and Murray Auchincloss / BP

BP Annual Report and Form 20-F 2025, Directors’ Remuneration Report. Shareholding figures based on position as of 13 February 2026.

https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/investors/bp-annual-report-and-form-20f-2025.pdf

Darren Woods / ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil SEC Filing, April 2025

https://investor.exxonmobil.com/sec-filings/all-sec-filings/content/0001193125-25-073986/0001193125-25-073986.pdf

Patrick Pouyanné / TotalEnergies

TotalEnergies Universal Registration Document 2025. Shareholding figure as of 18 March 2026.

https://totalenergies.com/system/files/documents/totalenergies_universal-registration-document-2025_2026_en.pdf

Michael Wirth / Chevron

Chevron Proxy Statement 2025

https://www.chevron.com/-/media/shared-media/documents/chevron-proxy-statement-2025.pdf – Page 110

Anders Opedal / Equinor

Equinor Remuneration Report 2025, shareholding as of 31 December 2025

https://cdn.equinor.com/files/h61q9gi9/global/a2b3945f550c9cd7f2e3e6085fc84d84e97fdb0b.pdf?2025-remuneration-report-equinor.pdf

The data was compiled by freelance business journalist David Craik. David’s experience has included writing business and city news and features for national newspapers and magazines such as The Daily Mirror, Sunday Times, Wall Street Journal, Scotsman and Daily Express. The data was peer reviewed by a former Bloomberg economist with expertise in the energy sector.