Shell more than doubled its net profit in the second quarter of 2026 to about $9.84 billion, driven by soaring oil and gas prices amid the Middle East war, compared with $4.26 billion a year earlier [1, 2, 3, 4]. The company’s integrated gas business profit rose 55% to $2.7 billion, helped by stronger LNG and oil trading and improved chemicals margins, which offset lower sales linked to damage at its Pearl gas-to-liquids plant in Qatar [2, 4]. The attack on the Pearl plant in March 2026 halted production and is expected to require about one year of repairs [1, 2, 4, 5]. Shell’s net debt fell to $41.8 billion at the end of Q2 from $52.6 billion at the end of Q1, lowering its gearing ratio to 18.7% [2, 4].
Chevron posted its highest quarterly profit in six years, reaching $12 billion in Q2 2026, surpassing analyst estimates [6, 7, 8]. Its upstream earnings surged 200% year-on-year to $8.2 billion, supported by an increase in production to 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), including a US oil production record of 2.08 million barrels per day [6, 7, 8]. Chevron CFO Eimear Bonner said, "Amid all the geopolitical uncertainty and market volatility that’s still upon us, we continue to deliver the reliable energy that the world has needed." CEO Mike Wirth warned that diesel and refined product prices are likely to stay high through the second half of 2026 due to ongoing supply tightness [9, 8].
ExxonMobil reported its biggest quarterly profit in four years with $14.7 billion in Q2 2026 but missed adjusted earnings per share estimates, posting $3.52 versus the projected $3.60 [10, 7, 5]. Its revenue of $116 billion exceeded expectations, though total production slightly declined from Q1 to about 4.5 million boe/d [7, 5]. Exxon CEO Darren Woods said, "The second quarter was shaped by disruption, but defined by execution. As conditions changed, we moved products where they were needed." Exxon also warned of sustained pressure on diesel and refined product prices in the coming months [10, 9].
The surge in oil prices followed the outbreak of the Iran war, which caused severe disruptions to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and pushed prices to $126 per barrel in April 2026. Brent crude averaged about $93–97 a barrel in Q2 2026 [1, 10, 11, 7]. US President Donald Trump has called for investigations into alleged oil price gouging linked to tightened global fuel supplies [10, 9, 8]. Environmental groups urged windfall taxes on the energy majors to fund climate resilience and help households cope with high energy costs. Greenpeace’s Ruby Schulkind said, "Europe is engulfed by apocalyptic wildfires, communities across Asia are reeling from devastating floods, and the UK battles through drought and yet more dangerous heat... Shell takes the profits, and the rest of us pick up the catastrophic bill." [1]
Shell CEO Wael Sawan highlighted the company’s strong results amid disruption, stating, "Shell’s operational performance enabled very strong results during another quarter of severe disruption in global energy markets." [12]
The next key date will be the companies’ third-quarter earnings, when market watchers will look for updates on production recovery at the Pearl plant and further outlook on energy prices.
