'Oil company profits are rocketing through little effort on their part'

'Oil company profits are rocketing through little effort on their part'Producers certainly didn’t start the conflict, but they are sure as heck basking in the war dividend that it has created, says the Mirror's Business and Consumer Editor Graham HiscottCommentsOpinionopinionGraham Hiscott Business and Consumer Editor21:17, 28 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesHigher energy costs bring the threat of bills shocks for millions (Image: GETTY) Even BP was forced to admit it was enjoying an “exceptional” boost from the Middle East war. ‌ The company - along with other producers - are among the few winners of the conflict playing out in the region. Profits are rocketing through absolutely zero effort on their part. They can just sit back, toast soaring oil prices and watch the money flood in. ‌ Oil majors certainly didn’t start the conflict, but they are sure as heck basking in the war dividend that it has created. And how is paying for it? ‌ Firstly, let's remember that the heaviest cost is being borne in lives lost in Iran and the wider region from the conflict. There is no greater cost. View 2 ImagesThe sun is shining for oil producers thanks to soaring wholesale costs (Image: PA) ‌ But the economic shockwaves, through soaring energy costs are being felt by almost every ordinary household in the UK and far beyond. A leap in fuel prices has made many motorists wince when they go to fill-up. It’s bad enough if nipping out in the car is a handy routine. But what about the millions who rely on their car, whether to get to work, for their job, if they are a carer, disabled? The list goes on and on. Article continues belowThen there is the threat of higher energy bills from the end of the summer onwards. Hikes aren’t baked in, yet, but the longer wholesale energy prices remain high, the more they will be. We tend to think of the impact of higher energy bills being felt from the autumn and into winter, and they are. But let’s remember those who, for medical or other reasons, need heating on constant at other times, or to power medical equipment. Then there are the longer-term impacts, with warnings from the government this weekend that the costs could be felt for eight months or more, even if the conflict ended right now. Talking of the government, its borrowing costs have risen again - at one stage hitting the highest since 2008 - amid investor concerns over the country’s mounting debts. The energy shock has made Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ job that much harder by putting the brakes on an already go-slow economy, and could mean extra help with gas and electricity bills for the most needy. None of which, of course, is the fault of the oil majors, the bosses of whom certainly won’t be sharing in the cost of living pain. What goes up, must come down, and so such companies don’t make nearly as much when oil prices are low. But given the wave of wholesale energy price hikes since 2021 - from the aftermath of Covid to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - they have been on a winning streak in terms of boosting their coffers.