War windfalls for energy elite as bills set to rise

The oil and gas war windfall continues to grow as total UK profits posted by a handful of energy firms in 2026 exceed £6 billion.

As the cost of gas is likely to increase again in the next Ofgem price cap announcement due later in August, the profits generated in the UK by these energy firms equate to over £200 for every household in the country.

The UK profits are part of global results posted by BP, Centrica, Chevron, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Iberdrola, Shell and Total of more than £95 billion in 2026.

Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “As people brace for the next price cap announcement on August 26 and a third of households are on the brink of or in energy debt, the energy industry watches the profits climb.

“These price shock profiteers are doing very well out of the Iran conflict, but they are doing little to solve the underlying problems.

“Long-term energy security cannot be built on a declining North Sea where firms have already extracted 90 per cent of commercially viable gas. The geology of the basin means import dependence is only going one way.

“The answer is to use these profits to support households, help people to make their homes more energy efficient and build the homegrown renewable energy that ends our exposure to these shocks for good.”