Shell more than doubled its net profit in the second quarter of 2026, as Europe's largest oil and gas company benefited from a sharp rise in oil and gas prices triggered by war in the Middle East. The surge in earnings has reignited criticism from environmental campaigners, who are renewing calls for a windfall tax on fossil fuel companies to help fund support for households facing higher living costs and the impacts of extreme weather.

Shell's net profit reached $9.84bn (£7.4bn) for the three months to June, more than double the figure for the same period last year, boosted by higher trading margins as wholesale energy prices climbed. Oil prices rose from around $61 a barrel in January to highs of $126 by late April, driven by disruption to flows through the strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude trading at $93.18 a barrel on Thursday. Chief executive Wael Sawan cited "severe disruption in global energy markets", while the company also reported a 30% fall in production from its integrated gas division following a March strike that damaged its Ras Laffan LNG complex in Qatar, with repairs expected to take about a year. Greenpeace's Ruby Schulkind said the profits amounted to an "obscenity" amid wildfires, floods and drought, and urged the government to impose a windfall tax to fund cost-of-living support and the clean energy transition.