Big oil profits top €260bn since start of Ukraine war: report

(EurActiv, 20 Feb 2024) European and US oil majors have made record profits totalling more than €260 billion since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022, according to NGO Global Witness.

The  five largest Western oil and gas companies – Shell, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies – have amassed profits of more than $281 billion (€261billion) since Russia invaded Ukraine, according to a report published by Global Witness on Monday (19 February).

Starting in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, wholesale energy prices have risen considerably with the conflict in Ukraine.

Economic sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and Moscow’s decision to stop gas imports to certain countries in retaliation have pushed up the price of gas in Europe, triggering a worldwide energy crisis.

American and European oil and gas companies have seen their profits soar as a result.

Faced with these record profits, US President Joe Biden accused oil companies of “profiting from war”, as did United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, who denounced the fact that these companies were “holding humanity by the throat”.

Patrick Galey, senior fossil fuel investigator at Global Witness, said that “regardless of what happens on the front lines, the fossil fuel majors are the main winners of the war in Ukraine”.

“They have amassed untold wealth off the back of death, destruction, and spiralling energy prices.”

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EurActiv, 20 Feb 2024: Big oil profits top €260bn since start of Ukraine war: report