The London-based oil major reported adjusted earnings of €6.1bn, beating market expectations and doubling last quarter’s results. The chief executive defended the results as showing Shell’s “relentless focus on operational performance.”
Wester van Gaal
Shell posted much higher first-quarter profits for 2026 than the previous quarter, as oil and gas prices soared due to the war between Iran and the US.
The London-based oil major reported adjusted earnings of $6.9bn [€6.1bn] on Thursday (7 May), beating market expectations and doubling last quarter’s results.
The war in the Gulf region has disrupted about a fifth of global oil and liquid gas supply.
Attacks on refineries, ports and gas infrastructure and the inability or unwillingness of the warring parties to resolve the conflict have roiled global markets, pushing Brent oil futures close to $120 [€101] a barrel at the end of last month before prices settled around $100.
This price volatility has proven lucrative for petrochemical companies. BP, TotalEnergies, Repsol and others have all posted stronger-than-expected earnings in recent days.
Shell chief executive Wael Sawan on Thursday defended the results, crediting the company’s “relentless focus on operational performance” during an exceptionally turbulent period for global energy markets.
Around 10 percent of Shell’s oil and gas production is located in countries affected by the Gulf blockade. Its Pearl gas facility in Qatar was damaged in attacks in March, and the company warned repairs could take more than a year.
But despite the disruption, damage and a four percent drop in production, the company was still able to file its best quarterly profit since 2023 because of “exceptional oil trading.”
Other oil traders appear to be doing equally well.
Vitol and Trafigura, the world’s biggest and second biggest oil traders, have posted their highest profits since the record years following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Oxfam estimates the biggest oil firms are on track to make $94bn in profits in 2026, higher than last year. The bumper profits are likely to fuel political pressure in Europe over so-called excess profits in the fossil fuel sector.
A group of five member states, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Portugal, is trying to push the commission and other EU countries to back an EU-wide tax on windfall profits in the oil and gas sector.
