The world’s largest Oil & Gas companies, as well as major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, will make an extra $234 billion in windfall profits by the end of the year if oil prices continue to average $100 per barrel, oilprice.com has said.
According to a report, based on Rystad Energy data, the world’s top 100 oil and gas companies recorded more than $30 million per hour in paper profits in the first month of the U.S-Israeli war in Iran that began in late February.
Oil markets remained steady on Wednesday, with Brent crude for June delivery rising 0.87 per cent to trade at $95.60 per barrel at 8.36 am ET, while WTI crude for May delivery rose 0.65 per cent to change hands at $91.87 per barrel.
Big Oil companies are expected to be among the war’s biggest beneficiaries, with Saudi Aramco expected to bank an extra $25.5 billion in extra profits, Kuwait Petroleum Corp. will make $12.1 billion, Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) is expected to book $11.0 billion while Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) will earn an extra $9.2 billion.
Russia’s oil giants are also expected to emerge as big winners, with Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil set to rake in nearly $24 billion in extra war profits by the end of the year. The analysts calculated windfall war profits by comparing free cash flow generated from oil and gas production before the war when prices were around $70 per barrel to price after the war began, when oil prices have hovered around $100/bbl.
