Eight Oil Companies Reap €7.5 Billion EU Windfalls in H1 as T&E Urges Permanent Tax
Updated
Updated · Sustainability Online · Aug 17
Eight Oil Companies Reap €7.5 Billion EU Windfalls in H1 as T&E Urges Permanent Tax
1 articles · Updated · Sustainability Online · Aug 17
Summary
€7.5 billion in excess profits was generated in Europe in the first half of 2026 by eight major oil companies, according to Transport & Environment, which linked the gains to Middle East-driven price volatility.
Six firms — BP, Shell, Eni, Orlen, Repsol and OMV — more than doubled second-quarter profits from a year earlier, while TotalEnergies and Moeve also posted what T&E called healthy profits.
€17.9 billion was the group’s global excess profit total for the first two quarters, with about 42% attributed to EU27 revenues that T&E said could be captured under a permanent windfall-tax mechanism.
Poland recorded the highest country-level excess profits, ahead of Spain, Germany and France, while T&E argued countries with higher EV uptake are less exposed to fuel-price shocks.
19% battery-EV share in Denmark versus less than 1% in Poland illustrates that gap, as T&E pressed the EU to use any windfall-tax revenue to cut drivers’ reliance on volatile fossil fuels.