Iran war lifts gasoline prices worldwide and oil company profits
In Europe, a liter now tops R$12; in the United States, a gallon costs 41% more. Meanwhile, ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, BP and TotalEnergies together earned more than double last quarter what they made a year earlier.
Adapted translation of the Portuguese original. Read the original.
CartoonThe war began on February 28, with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Eight months later, the world pays the bill at the gas pump, and one industry collects the change. In the third quarter, ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, BP and TotalEnergies together earned US$52.9 billion. A year earlier, they had earned US$22.3 billion.
With the Strait of Hormuz nearly closed and Gulf refineries hit, a barrel of Brent rose above US$104 in October. On Wednesday (November 4), it closed at US$94.62, down 8.7%: the market is betting that a Democratic win in the U.S. Congress will push Donald Trump toward a deal. Gasoline, for its part, is still up high.
What a liter costs, in reais
Abestadão converted the consumer price of a liter of gasoline into reais for nine countries in Europe and nine in the Americas, using the Central Bank of Brazil's official exchange rate for Thursday (November 5).
Europe, 95-octane gasoline, price for the week of November 2:
- Norway: R$16.93 (28.80 kroner)
- Switzerland: R$14.22 (2.12 francs)
- Netherlands: R$14.01 (€2.28), up 10.8% since February
- France: R$13.23 (€2.16), up 26.2%
- Germany: R$13.05 (€2.13), up 16.7%
- United Kingdom: R$12.72 (£1.73)
- Portugal: R$12.30 (€2.01), up 19%
- Italy: R$12.27 (€2.00), up 20.9%
- Spain: R$10.61 (€1.73), up 17.6%
The Americas:
- Uruguay: R$12.30 (90.45 pesos), up 16.3% since February
- Peru: R$9.34 (Lima average, 5.90 soles)
- Chile: R$8.56 (1,538 pesos, in Santiago)
- Argentina: R$7.33 (2,079 pesos, in Buenos Aires, September price; there were new increases in the interior this week)
- Colombia: R$7.26 (4,314 pesos, in Bogotá)
- Canada: R$6.99 (1.79 Canadian dollars)
- Mexico: R$6.95 (23.70 pesos)
- Brazil: R$6.52, up about 3.5% since February
- United States: R$5.99 (US$4.15 a gallon), up 41.4%
Americans still pay the cheapest gasoline on the list, because taxes there are low. But they took the biggest fright: a gallon went from US$2.94 the week before the war to US$4.15. By Brown University's calculations, cited by Al Jazeera, Americans have already spent US$150 billion more on fuel since February 28, more than US$1,150 per household.
In Europe, gasoline rose between 11% and 26% in eight months. Diesel, which moves trucks and tractors, rose even more.
Where the money went
On the other side of the pump, the result is different. In the third quarter, ExxonMobil earned US$15.4 billion, double a year earlier. Chevron nearly tripled, to US$9.9 billion. BP nearly quadrupled, from US$2.2 billion to US$8.5 billion. Shell doubled, to US$10.8 billion, and TotalEnergies went from US$3.7 billion to US$8.3 billion.
The profits did not sit still. Shell raised its share buyback from US$3 billion to US$5 billion a quarter, and TotalEnergies approved another US$2.5 billion for the end of the year. That is money going back to shareholders.
The gain reaches beyond the giants. A New York Times estimate, which the paper itself calls conservative, adds up to more than US$130 billion in profit for 51 large U.S. oil companies between April and September, against less than US$47 billion in the same period of 2025. In Europe, a study commissioned by Greenpeace Germany, published by Euronews, calculates that the companies earned €36 billion more from diesel and gasoline since March: €154 million a day.
The executives blame the war. “The system is under stress,” said Mike Wirth, Chevron's chairman. Even Trump, who started the war, complained in August that Chevron and Exxon were making too much money from the shortage. He did nothing about it.
Who wants to collect the bill
Six European Union countries, among them Germany, Portugal, Spain and Italy, are calling for a European tax on oil windfall profits. Energy ministers discussed the matter on October 29 and decided nothing. Portugal did not wait: it already charges 33% on the oil companies' and refineries' extra 2026 profit. In 2022, during the war in Ukraine, a similar levy raised almost €29 billion for Europe.
And in Brazil
Brazil appears among the cheapest on the list, and gasoline rose little here: about 3.5% since February, against 41% in the United States. It was not luck. Petrobras spent three months of war without touching its price and, when it did raise it, in May, the government covered most of it: of the R$0.48 per liter increase at the refinery, a federal subsidy covered up to R$0.44, and the impact at the pump was at most R$0.03.
The state company also gained from expensive oil. In the second quarter, it earned R$52.4 billion, almost double a year earlier. The difference is that Petrobras's largest shareholder is the federal government, and part of that profit goes back to the Treasury. The third-quarter result comes out next Tuesday (November 10).
Sources
- Fuel prices in Europe (Weekly Oil Bulletin)
95-octane gasoline in the week of November 2, 2026: Germany €2.128 a liter (€1.824 on February 23), France €2.158 (€1.710), Italy €2.001 (€1.655), Spain €1.730 (€1.471), Portugal €2.006 (€1.686) and Netherlands €2.284 (€2.062). Each country's pages are at the same address, with the country's name.
Republication, under an open license, of the European Commission's weekly bulletin.
- Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update
Regular gasoline in the U.S. at US$4.153 a gallon on November 2, 2026 (US$1.10 a liter), versus US$2.937 in the week of February 23, up 41.4%.
- Preço da gasolina: levantamento semanal da ANP
Regular gasoline in Brazil at R$6.52 a liter, average for the week of October 25 to 31, 2026; about R$6.30 in February.
Site that republishes ANP data; the February value is indicative.
- Histórico de precios de combustibles
Super 95 gasoline at UYU 90.45 a liter since November 1, 2026, versus UYU 77.79 on February 1, 2026.
- Precio de la gasolina en México hoy
Magna gasoline at MX$23.70 a liter, national average.
- Precio de la gasolina en Colombia en noviembre de 2026
Regular gasoline in Bogotá at COP 16,331 a gallon (COP 4,314 a liter) in November 2026, reference price unchanged from October.
Regulated reference price, not necessarily the pump price.
- YPF confirmó un aumento de 1% promedio en los precios de sus combustibles
YPF super gasoline in Buenos Aires at ARS 2,079 a liter since September 25, 2026.
Last confirmed price in Buenos Aires; there were increases in other cities on November 3.
- Precio de bencinas en la Región Metropolitana
93-octane gasoline at CLP 1,538 a liter, average for the Santiago Metropolitan Region on November 4, 2026.
- Lima: este es el precio de la gasolina este jueves 5 de noviembre
Regular gasohol in Lima between S/19.89 and S/24.75 a gallon; Abestadão used the average of the two.
Minimum and maximum across stations, not a market average.
- Canadian gas prices
Gasoline in Canada at C$1.79 a liter, national average on November 3, 2026.
- Are petrol prices going up?
Gasoline in the United Kingdom at 172.78 pence a liter in the week of November 2, 2026.
Third-party guide; the British government publishes the data in a spreadsheet.
- Fuel prices in Europe
Gasoline at NOK 28.80 a liter in Norway and CHF 2.12 in Switzerland on November 2, 2026.
Aggregator; other readings from the same day vary by 1% to 6%.
- Cotações PTAX
PTAX selling rate of November 5, 2026: dollar R$5.4621; euro R$6.1323; pound R$7.3613; Swiss franc R$6.7069; Norwegian krone R$0.5877; Canadian dollar R$3.9032. Mexican, Argentine, Chilean, Colombian and Uruguayan pesos and the Peruvian sol converted through the PTAX dollar and each currency's market quote.
- Exxon, Chevron beat on earnings as oil prices surge on Iran war
ExxonMobil earned US$15.4 billion in Q3 2026, versus US$7.5 billion a year earlier; Chevron, US$9.9 billion, versus US$3.5 billion. In August, Trump said both were making too much money from the shortage.
- Shell's biggest profit since 2022 powered a bigger buyback
Shell earned US$10.81 billion in Q3 2026, almost double the US$5.43 billion of a year earlier, and raised its quarterly share buyback from US$3 billion to US$5 billion.
Adjusted earnings, the metric Shell highlights.
- BP Q3 RC profit climbs, updates FY26 production view
BP had underlying profit of US$8.458 billion in Q3 2026, versus US$2.210 billion a year earlier.
Underlying replacement cost profit, the metric BP highlights.
- TotalEnergies third quarter 2026 results (Form 6-K)
TotalEnergies earned US$8.26 billion in Q3 2026, versus US$3.68 billion a year earlier, and approved a US$2.5 billion buyback for Q4.
- How US oil firms profit $130bn from Iran war as household bills surge
According to a New York Times estimate, 51 large U.S. oil companies earned more than US$130 billion from April to September 2026, versus less than US$47 billion in the same period of 2025. According to Brown University, Americans spent US$150 billion more on fuel since February 28, more than US$1,150 per household.
- Oil giants cash in on the US-Iran conflict
A study commissioned by Greenpeace Germany estimates that oil companies earned €36 billion more from diesel and gasoline in the European Union between March 1 and October 19, €154.4 million a day. Germany, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Italy and Poland are calling for a European windfall profits tax; Portugal already charges 33%. Energy ministers discussed it on October 29 without deciding; in 2022, the solidarity contribution raised almost €29 billion.
- Crude oil prices fall: Brent drops 8.7% to $94.62
Brent closed at US$94.62 on November 4, 2026, down 8.7% on the day, as the market judged that the Democratic win in Congress increases pressure for a deal with Iran.
- Petrobras aumenta gasolina nas refinarias em R$ 0,48
First gasoline increase since October 2025: R$0.48 per liter at the refineries, with a federal subsidy of up to R$0.44; maximum impact at the pump of R$0.03.
- Lucro líquido da Petrobras sobe 96,8% no 2º trimestre, para R$ 52,4 bilhões
Petrobras earned R$52.4 billion in Q2 2026, up 96.8% from the same quarter of 2025.
