BP profits hit ‘obscene’ 18-year high as Iran war drives up oil refining margins
News Source
•Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:49:00 GMT
📰 What Happened
BP reported third-quarter underlying replacement cost profit of $8.46 billion, almost four times the $2.2 billion recorded a year earlier and its highest quarterly figure since $8.9 billion in 2008. Chief executive Meg O'Neill credited very strong refining margins and underlying performance, saying the company was able to "capture the opportunity provided by the market" as the Middle East war lifted oil and gas prices.
🔍 The Backstory
Refining margins widened as the conflict disrupted crude and product flows, benefiting integrated oil companies with large downstream operations. The results land just over a week before diplomats meet in Antalya, Turkey, for the Cop31 climate summit, where recent climate-linked disasters such as the Nepal floods are expected to be prominent.
🎯 Why It Matters
Climate campaigners called the profits "obscene" and argued the company is profiting from commodities driving environmental damage, renewing pressure for windfall taxes on energy companies. The numbers also illustrate how war-driven price spikes can outweigh the costs of the energy transition for oil majors, complicating the case for faster investment in renewables.
BP reported third-quarter underlying replacement cost profit of $8.46 billion, almost four times the $2.2 billion recorded a year earlier and its highest quarterly figure since $8.9 billion in 2008. Chief executive Meg O'Neill credited very strong refining margins and underlying performance, saying the company was able to "capture the opportunity provided by the market" as the Middle East war lifted oil and gas prices.
Refining margins widened as the conflict disrupted crude and product flows, benefiting integrated oil companies with large downstream operations. The results land just over a week before diplomats meet in Antalya, Turkey, for the Cop31 climate summit, where recent climate-linked disasters such as the Nepal floods are expected to be prominent.
Climate campaigners called the profits "obscene" and argued the company is profiting from commodities driving environmental damage, renewing pressure for windfall taxes on energy companies. The numbers also illustrate how war-driven price spikes can outweigh the costs of the energy transition for oil majors, complicating the case for faster investment in renewables.