Energy & Climate
Importing Venezuelan oil
Global Witness: Europe is poised to help firms profit from US-controlled Venezuelan oil.
11 February 2026
The five largest North Sea oil and gas companies have received a staggering £73 billion boost to the value of their shares in the month since the first US-Israeli attacks on Iran, according to new analysis by Greenpeace UK.
The sharp rise in the value of their stocks means fossil fuel producers are now expecting a huge ‘war windfall’, prompting campaigners to call for a strengthening of the windfall tax.
One month of Donald Trump’s war in Iran has resulted in death and destruction and turmoil in global energy markets, pushing up UK petrol prices and threatening higher bills and inflation.
At the same time, the sudden spike in oil and gas prices has led to a huge increase in the market value of many fossil fuel companies.
Analysis by Greenpeace shows that in just four weeks, the combined market capitalisation of Shell, TotalEnergies, BP, Equinor and Harbour Energy has jumped by £73.5 billion.
Shell and Equinor top the list, with each company’s total market value soaring by around £20 billion and Shell’s share price hitting an all-time high last week.
‘These oil giants are about to cash in a huge windfall from Trump’s illegal war, yet the industry is shamelessly lobbying for tax cuts. While UK households face eye-watering energy bills, fossil fuel producers are in line for a multi-billion-pound war windfall they’ve done nothing to earn. Shell and Equinor are pressuring the government to open up a major new oilfield in the North Sea – they keep making huge profits while UK households are held hostage to volatile fossil fuel markets.
‘The government must not cave in to industry lobbying but should tax every penny of these war profits. This crisis shows why we need to ramp up efforts to wean ourselves off fossil fuels by doubling down on renewables. More wind and solar can cut the UK’s reliance on gas imports much faster than issuing new North Sea licences. Renewables are our best insurance policy against the fallout from Trump and Putin’s wars – we should go all in.’
PAUL MOROZZO
Senior climate campaigner with Greenpeace UK
The market shock from the conflict in the Middle East is set to deliver a multi-billion-pound boost to oil giants’ profits. Despite this, the industry has been lobbying ministers to scrap the Energy Profits Levy, the government’s main tool to tax fossil fuel firms’ unearned profits.
Shell and Equinor are also attempting to capitalise on instability in global oil and gas supply by pressuring ministers into greenlighting the controversial Rosebank oilfield.
A 95,000-tonne production ship, the Petrojarl Rosebank, is currently sailing to the UK despite the companies having no permission to start production at the site.
Greenpeace is calling on the government to resist industry pressure, reject Rosebank, strengthen the windfall tax on fossil fuel profits and champion a global profit tax on international oil companies.
Global Witness: Europe is poised to help firms profit from US-controlled Venezuelan oil.
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