Eight major oil companies made an estimated 7.5 billion euros ($8.7 billion) in excess profits attributable to the European Union in the first half of 2026, according to an analysis by Brussels-based clean transport campaign group Transport & Environment, which called for a permanent windfall tax on the sector.
The group said in a statement on Monday that surging oil prices and volatility linked to tensions in the Middle East had boosted oil companies' profits even as wildfires raged across parts of Europe.
Six of the eight companies, BP, Shell, Eni, Orlen, Repsol and OMV, more than doubled their EU-attributed profits in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, T&E said. TotalEnergies and Moeve also reported strong profits, it added.
T&E estimated that the eight companies generated about 17.9 billion euros in excess profits globally during the first two quarters of 2026, with about 42% attributable to the 27 EU member states.
The analysis allocates group-level profits to the EU based on companies' country-by-country revenue reporting rather than where profits are booked, reflecting the ability of multinational oil companies to shift profits between jurisdictions, T&E said.
Poland accounted for the largest share of EU-attributed excess profits, followed by Spain, Germany and France, according to the analysis.
"Oil giants are abandoning green energy while drivers foot the bill for their record profits," Antony Froggatt, senior director at T&E, said. "The EU must tax windfall oil profits and use the funds to make electric driving affordable for everyone."
Countries with higher electric vehicle adoption rates are less exposed to oil price swings, T&E said, citing Denmark, where battery-electric vehicles account for about 19% of the market, compared with less than 1% in Poland.
T&E also cited polling conducted by YouGov on behalf of the group and other non-governmental organizations showing broad European support for taxing windfall profits.