Western Asian crisis and destruction, record profits for giants: War again benefited capital

Despite ongoing military tensions in Western Asia and the escalating climate crisis, the world's eight largest publicly traded oil producers have reported historic profits. In the three months ending June, these companies collectively earned $93 billion, a stark increase from the $50 billion reported during the same period last year, according to a Guardian analysis.

Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state-owned giant, led the pack with a net profit exceeding $33 billion. This figure, a 34% increase, was achieved despite damage to infrastructure from drone and missile attacks in the region. Other major players also saw significant gains: ExxonMobil posted its highest quarterly profit since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war at $14.5 billion. Chevron's net profit surged more than fivefold to $12.2 billion, while Shell recorded its best-ever second quarter with $9.84 billion, even with war-related damage to its facilities in Qatar. BP doubled its net profit for the April-June period to $5.73 billion.

These record profits, announced as energy prices remain high and the climate crisis intensifies, have drawn sharp criticism from environmental organizations, NGOs, and politicians. Environmental groups argue that energy companies must bear the costs of environmental damage and allocate more resources to renewable energy investments. Former U.S. President Donald Trump accused Chevron and ExxonMobil of profiting from the conflict with Iran, demanding the returns be given back to the public. In response to the backlash, BP CEO Meg O'Neill stated the company's priority is reliably supplying products in high demand. BP also announced it is reducing its annual energy transition budget from $5 billion to a range of $1.5-$2 billion, selling its U.S. biogas operations, and putting its North Sea oil and gas fields up for sale.

The financial windfalls come as scientific research highlights the direct link between carbon emissions from the world's top 14 fossil fuel companies and over 50 deadly heatwaves. This news emerged as more than half of the UK experienced severe drought conditions.

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The company's priority is to reliably deliver products in short supply to the market.