AJ reporting -
As energy from the Gulf and Russia take a hit, American oil and gas firms are the big gainers. The biggest losers: consumers around the world
By Federica Marsi -- Published On 2 Nov 20262 Nov 2026
United States oil companies have earned more than $130bn in profits during the war on Iran, even as consumers pay much higher prices for key commodities, amid fears that US President Donald Trump may renew fighting after midterm elections.
The estimate, released by The New York Times, is a conservative evaluation based on the performance of 51 large US oil and gas companies in the six months from April through September. By contrast, in the same period in 2025 – when the prices of oil were lower prior to the launch of the US-Israel war on Iran – they collectively earned less than $47bn.
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list of 3 itemsend of listBut the gains come as burgeoning living costs are crushing consumers. Americans have spent an extra $150bn on petrol and diesel since the war on Iran began on February 28, according to an analysis by Brown University’s Climate Solutions Lab, which amounts to more than $1,150 per household.
The disparity has fuelled a political debate over who gains and who pays the price for the war. Responding to Trump, Democratic Representative Jim McGovern wrote on X: “We’re not making a ‘freaking fortune,’ we’re PAYING a ‘freaking fortune’.”
US Big Oil in position to profit where others lose
Naser al-Tamimi, a fellow at the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) in Milan, Italy, said US energy companies have benefitted from the war in different ways. “Crude producers gain from higher oil prices, while refiners capture exceptional margins as diesel and other fuel supplies tighten,” he said.
Additionally, “damage to Middle Eastern and Russian refineries, disrupted Strait of Hormuz shipments, and sanctions-related trade frictions have intensified shortages”, while “relatively secure US facilities and access to discounted crude strengthen these gains”.
ExxonMobil and Chevron, the biggest US oil companies, on Friday reported profits of between $10bn and $15bn. While the gains are considerable, The New York Times found they generally remained below 2022 levels, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused oil prices to soar to roughly $100 a barrel and raised natural gas prices, compared with the current average of $90 from April through September.
[...]
Continued pressure over cost of living
Analysts warned of continued volatility until a durable political settlement between the US and Iran is reached. Oil prices dropped briefly in the summer after a memorandum of understanding was signed in June, but prices quickly soared again when talks broke down.
A more recent escalation in fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has further compounded the crisis: the Bab al-Mandeb strait that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, which Saudi Arabia uses to export oil, is now also a theatre of war.
“In the short term, windfall profits will only strengthen oil company balance sheets and shareholder returns,” Miller said. “However, the big profits come with a major caveat. That’s because over the longer term, high oil prices risk harming economic growth prospects and could even contribute towards the outbreak of a recession, which would in turn be likely to lead to reduced demand for oil” and accelerate the transition to renewable energy.
Florence Schmit, senior energy strategist at Rabobank’s global economics and markets team in London, said it was likely that the prices of key energy products would remain high given the uncertainty about the duration of the war in Iran.
“Prices in all markets that have an exposure to this global supply shock – which includes the US – will face high prices also next year, and consumers will continue to feel this price pressure unless governments step in,” Schmit told Al Jazeera.
The item continues, and earlier this graphic was part of the post -
Dylan, early in his career, sang, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."
You don't. So, are you happy with this war, or ready to vote Dem to have a better chance of ending the grotesque profiteering? It may drag on, but it may not. We shall see.
A hypothetical. When there is a bit of public bleating about "FRAUD!" can there be such a thing as a fraudulent war? One premised by public decree one way, but done to achieve a different outcome, from another direction? And if there can be, is there one, now since Feburary? A "four week" war?
And, who'd do such a thing? Who'd be that sneaky? Over barrels of oil?
UPDATE: Sophistry.
FURTHER: A trillion dollar fraud war - an oil war disguised as a security threat war that can hit a trillion if lasting long enough - dwarfs anything that any Minnesota Somali community rump groups may have committed, as a welfare fraud. War fraud has a lot of death and destruction to it. Welfare fraud just means an unduly inattentive bureaucrat or three asleep at the switch. No loss of life, no destruction. No Hegseth.
