Europe’s major oil companies have more than doubled their profits in the latest quarter of 2026, reigniting the debate over whether governments should tax part of those gains while simultaneously spending public money to shield motorists from high fuel prices.
According to an analysis by the environmental lobby group Transport & Environment, eight major oil companies, including Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, Eni, Repsol, OMV, Orlen, and Moeve, collectively reported adjusted profits of around €25.8 billion in the second quarter of 2026. That compares with approximately €11.6 billion during the same period last year, an increase of 122%.
The companies’ own quarterly accounts broadly confirm the overall figures. Shell alone reported $9.8 billion in adjusted earnings in Q2, while BP reported $5.7 billion, and TotalEnergies around $6 billion. Eni and Repsol also reported sharply higher profits.
Geopolitical tensions
The improvement largely coincided with the renewed surge in oil prices following geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude averaged more than $100 per barrel during the quarter, substantially higher than a year earlier.
Transport & Environment estimates that around €7.5 billion of the additional profits generated during the first half of 2026 can be attributed to European activities.
That number, however, needs some qualification. Oil companies generally do not publish exact profit figures for the European market. T&E therefore estimates European profits by applying each company’s share of EU revenues to its global profit figures. The organization then defines ‘excess profits’ as the difference between profits in 2026 and those generated during the corresponding period of 2025.
That makes the €7.5 billion figure an estimate rather than an audited accounting figure. It also means not every euro of extra profit can necessarily be attributed directly to higher oil prices.
Higher production, lower costs, acquisitions, or unusually weak results in 2025 can also influence the comparison. Still, the numbers illustrate why calls for new windfall taxes are gaining political traction.
Belgium: €213 million estimated
For Belgium alone, T&E estimates that oil companies generated around €213 million in excess profits during the first six months of the year. Poland tops the countries examined with roughly €1.63 billion, followed by Spain with €1.48 billion, and Germany with €1.19 billion.
The Belgian figure is politically interesting because governments are once again spending money to limit the impact of high gasoline and diesel prices on consumers. Rather than taxing extraordinary oil profits, Belgium has so far focused mainly on price controls, regulatory supervision, and consumer support.
Other European countries
Other European countries are taking a different approach. Portugal recently approved plans for a 33% levy on oil company profits that exceed 120% of the average profits earned in 2024 and 2025. The measure still requires final parliamentary approval.
Romania already operates several mechanisms targeting unusually high oil-sector profits, including taxes linked to Brent crude prices.
Italy has opted for a broader solution by increasing the regional corporate tax levied on energy companies in 2026 and 2027. The government expects the measure to generate hundreds of millions of euros.
Poland went even further. Its parliament approved a 60% windfall tax on exceptional fuel-sector profits, although implementation has been delayed after the president referred the legislation to the Constitutional Tribunal.
Outside the EU, the United Kingdom already has one of Europe’s most extensive systems. Its Energy Profits Levy raises the effective tax rate on North Sea oil and gas profits to 78%.
Europe has done it before
Windfall taxation is not new territory for the European Union. Following the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU introduced a temporary solidarity contribution on fossil-fuel companies. Profits exceeding the average level of 2018 to 2021 by more than 20% could be taxed at a minimum rate of 33%.
According to the European Commission, the mechanism raised more than €26 billion across member states in 2022 and 2023, much of which was used to support households and businesses facing soaring energy bills.
Permanent mechanism
T&E now argues that Europe should revive the principle and create a permanent mechanism that would automatically activate when oil prices or company profits rise exceptionally quickly.
The debate exposes an uncomfortable contradiction for governments. When oil prices surge, many countries reduce fuel taxes or provide subsidies to protect motorists, thereby lowering public revenues. At the same time, oil producers and refiners can see their profits rise sharply.
A windfall tax attempts to shift part of that cost back toward the companies benefiting most from the price shock.
For Belgium, where T&E estimates more than €200 million in additional oil-sector profits in only six months, that discussion could become difficult to avoid if fuel prices remain high.
Countries with higher rates of electric vehicles are much less exposed to higher prices. Denmark has a BEV share of around 19%, compared with less than 1% in Poland. Previous T&E research found that the Iran conflict is set to hit petrol drivers five times more than EVs.
