High oil prices lift profits at Shell, TotalEnergies and Repsol
The Iran war is driving up oil and gas prices and the companies' profits. Shareholders benefit from buybacks. Repsol earns more than 5 billion euros in nine months.
Symbolic image · Photo: Reading Tom from Reading, UK / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Oil and gas prices that have soared because of the Iran war continue to fill the coffers of the major oil companies. Shell and TotalEnergies reported profit jumps for the third quarter on Thursday, and Spain's Repsol also performed strongly. Shell's adjusted earnings rose to $10.8 billion from $5.4 billion a year earlier, its quarterly report showed – nearly double and, according to agencies, the highest since 2022. Shell launched a new $5 billion share buyback, while TotalEnergies lifted adjusted net income to $9.1 billion. Investors bought the shares on Thursday.
Repsol posted net profit of 5.006 billion euros for January to September 2026, including a positive inventory effect of 943 million euros. Agencies reported an increase of 325%. The company plans investments of nearly $13 billion in Spain through 2030. TotalEnergies and Chevron are also expanding their exploration partnership in the U.S. Gulf.
Expensive energy is weighing on consumers and companies in the euro zone. The European Central Bank warned on Thursday that energy prices continued to rise, posing upside risks to inflation and downside risks to growth. Saxo Bank commodity strategist Ole Hansen, however, says China's commercial oil demand has likely already peaked because of rapid electrification, including of heavy trucks.