# Shell half-year earnings soar to £12.6bn on Iran war oil price volatility

By Simon Francis — 2026-07-30

Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “Shell makes more profit in a single minute than most people in this country earn in a year. As wildfires rage and temperatures climb, the very fuels heating the planet are also heating company profits, while households pay the price on their bills.

“This is even harder to stomach knowing that via Shell’s new North Sea joint venture with Equinor, it is structuring its operations to reduce the tax it pays in Britain. Long-term energy security cannot rely on a declining North Sea, where firms have already extracted 90 per cent of commercially viable gas while posting billions in profits. The drill more, bill more approach simply locks households into another cycle of gas price shocks.

“Ministers should ensure the Energy Profits Levy does its job and use the proceeds to fund energy debt relief and a permanent social tariff. What’s more we need structural reform to break the link between electricity prices and volatile gas markets so that homegrown clean power brings bills down for the people who need help most.”

Canonical: https://experts.pressassociation.com/expert/84/views/4b9242bb7dc5b04b