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Big Oil rakes in over $130B in profits as soaring gas prices squeeze consumers amid Iran war

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Zilber, A. (2026, October 30). Big Oil rakes in over $130B in profits as soaring gas prices squeeze consumers amid Iran war. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/30/business/big-oil-makes-130b-in-profits-as-gas-prices-rise-amid-iran-war/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-30 · by Ariel Zilber

Quick Summary

Between April and September, major oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron reported profits of over $130 billion, nearly three times what they earned in the same period last year. This surge is linked to disruptions caused by recent conflicts involving Iran, which have driven up international oil prices by about 60%. Despite increased oil supply through the Persian Gulf, fuel costs remain high, with American motorists now paying an average of $4.20 per gallon for regular gasoline compared to $2.98 before the conflict began in late February. President Trump criticized these companies for not lowering retail fuel prices and suggested they should return some of their profits to the public.
Written by AI on 2026-10-31, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of October 30, 2026, Big Oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron reported over $130 billion in profits for the six months ending September, nearly tripling their earnings from the same period last year. This surge coincides with a significant increase in gas prices due to disruptions caused by the ongoing conflict involving the US and Israel's strikes against Iran starting February 28. The war severely affected oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway handling about one-fifth of global oil consumption, but recent reports show oil shipments from the Persian Gulf have returned to pre-war levels without easing pump prices for consumers. ExxonMobil alone reported record third-quarter refining profits of $9.05 billion, nearly five times higher than the previous year, while Chevron earned $4.93 billion in refining profits, quadruple its profit from a year earlier. Despite these high profits, President Trump has prioritized lowering gas prices for American consumers, as stated by White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers.

Written for “Big Oil Profits Soar Amid War Concerns” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but all 4 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 117912: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-31

Story

📰 Big Oil Profits Soar Amid War Concerns
Economy/Business · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 29% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A discusses oil profits and price impacts due to the Iran war, while Article B reports on specific attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and political statements about ending the conflict.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 6 of 36 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Iran situation and oil market; Article A focuses on the potential future conflict and its impact, while Article B reports on the financial profits of Big Oil during a specific period due to the existing conflict.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 8 of 31 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles discuss oil prices and shipments amidst the Iran war, they focus on different aspects: one on increased oil flows easing supply disruptions and the other on Big Oil profits despite high gas prices.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 70/100
“While both articles discuss oil companies profiting due to increased prices and disruptions from conflicts involving Iran, they describe different aspects of the situation over a broader timeframe.”
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 1 of 8 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles cover overlapping but distinct timeframes and profit metrics for oil companies, suggesting they are reporting on related financial outcomes rather than a single specific event.”
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 1 of 15 claims Outlet record 65/100
“Article A reports on BP's third quarter profits specifically, while Article B covers a six-month period of Big Oil companies' overall profits and broader market impacts.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 16 claims Outlet record 65/100
“While both articles discuss oil companies' profits amidst a crisis caused by Middle East conflict and disruptions in oil supplies, they cover different time frames and specific profit numbers.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 41 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles discuss related topics but cover different aspects of the situation: one focuses on Trump's defense of high gas prices, while the other discusses oil company profits during the Iran war.”
NBC News
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 36 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles discuss oil companies' profits amid high oil prices and a conflict with Iran, they refer to different time periods and specific profit figures.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
29%
8 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-31 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15511 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ariel Zilber
79 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell and TotalEnergies together posted $56.3 billion in adjusted third-quarter net income, with each company beating Wall Street forecasts, Bloomberg reported Friday. ExxonMobil’s refining business raked in a record $9.05 billion in third-quarter profits — nearly five times its year-earlier haul, according to Bloomberg.
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🔮 The industry’s rapid growth has also raised concerns among lawmakers and advocacy groups that traders could exploit confidential information to profit from bets on real-world events.
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Also by Ariel Zilber
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 79 articles by Ariel Zilber →

Topics

Bloomberg Chevron ExxonMobil Iran New York Times

Subjects

Chevron ORG · 4× ExxonMobil ORG · 4× Iran GPE · 4× Trump PERSON · 4× American NORP · 3× Bloomberg ORG · 3× The Post ORG · 2× New York Times ORG · 1× Shell ORG · 1× the Wall Street Journal ORG · 1×

Narrative

Asked about the president’s position on the industry’s windfall, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told The Post: “President Trump’s top priority is lowering gas prices for the American people, and he has a proven record of driving prices at the pump down to multi-year lows.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-31
🔮 ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell and TotalEnergies together posted $56.3 billion in adjusted third-quarter net income, with each company beating Wall Street forecasts, Bloomberg reported Friday. ExxonMobil’s refining business raked in a record $9.05 billion in third-quarter profits — nearly five times its year-earlier haul, according to Bloomberg.

Claims (28 extracted, 8 hedged)

That six-month haul, recorded between April and September, was nearly three times what the companies earned during the same period last year, when profits totaled less than $47 billion, according to a New York Times analysis. uncertain
profits → record → analysis
The conflict, which began Feb. 28, severely disrupted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that previously handled the equivalent of roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption. asserted
that → begin → consumption
Oil shipments through the Persian Gulf recently surpassed prewar levels, according to the Wall Street Journal, though that supply boost is yet to ease costs at the pump. uncertain
boost → surpass → pump
ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell and TotalEnergies together posted $56.3 billion in adjusted third-quarter net income, with each company beating Wall Street forecasts, Bloomberg reported Friday. ExxonMobil’s refining business raked in a record $9.05 billion in third-quarter profits — nearly five times its year-earlier haul, according to Bloomberg. uncertain
business → post → Bloomberg
Chevron, meanwhile, earned $4.93 billion from refining, fuel marketing and related operations — about quadruple its profit a year earlier and the division’s best quarterly showing on record. asserted
Chevron → earn → record
Since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, international oil prices have climbed nearly 60%, according to Bloomberg. uncertain
prices → launch → Bloomberg
Refineries that remain operational have enjoyed fatter margins as the Iran war and Ukrainian strikes in Russia have knocked roughly 10% of the world’s fuel-making capacity offline, according to the news outlet. uncertain
war → remain → outlet
Ukraine recently paused its attacks on Russian oil refineries at the behest of President Trump, who blamed the strikes for high prices. asserted
who → pause → prices
American motorists are paying an average of $4.20 a gallon for regular gasoline, up from $2.98 before the Iran war began in late February, according to AAA. uncertain
war → pay → AAA
Derek Reisfield, co-founder of MarketWatch, warned that diesel prices could remain elevated because of longstanding constraints on US refining capacity and the difficulty of expanding production. uncertain
prices → warn → production
This problem has been brewing for a long time,” he told The Post. asserted
he → brew → Post
Reisfield warned that sustained high oil prices could eventually hurt the industry’s long-term prospects by encouraging investment in alternative energy sources, including nuclear, geothermal, solar and wind power. uncertain
prices → warn → power
“The potential bad news for the oil industry is this capacity gets put in place and reduces the fundamental demand for oil as an energy source over time,” he told said. asserted
he → put → said
Trump singled out ExxonMobil and Chevron in August, urging the companies to return some of their profits to the public and cut retail fuel prices. asserted
Trump → single → prices
“When you look at one company where they made 12 times what they made the year before, they ought to give some of that back to the public,” he told reporters in the Oval Office on Aug. 3. asserted
he → look → Aug.
“And they better cut the retail price, the consumer price.” asserted
they → cut → price
The president, described himself as a champion of free enterprise but expressed frustration that the industry’s enormous earnings were coming at consumers’ expense. asserted
earnings → describe → expense
“The United States oil and gas business is making hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump told supporters Saturday. asserted
Trump → make → supporters
He also credited the conflict with generating enormous sums for the country, saying his advisers had discouraged him from boasting about the industry’s financial gains. asserted
advisers → credit → gains
Asked about the president’s position on the industry’s windfall, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told The Post: “President Trump’s top priority is lowering gas prices for the American people, and he has a proven record of driving prices at the pump down to multi-year lows. asserted
he → ask → lows
“Once the conflict with Iran comes to an end, gas prices will plummet, and the Iranian terrorist regime will not have a nuclear weapon,” he said in a Friday statement. asserted
he → come → statement
“Just as he promised, the President has unleashed American energy dominance and cemented the United States as the world’s top producer and exporter of oil and natural gas.” asserted
President → promise → oil
Shares of ExxonMobil and Chevron have each surged roughly 52% this year, with both stocks climbing again Friday after the companies reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. asserted
companies → surge → earnings
ExxonMobil gained 1.25% to $185.58 in late-morning trading, below its 52-week high of $188.50, giving the company a market value of about $763 billion. asserted
ExxonMobil → gain → billion
Chevron, meanwhile, rose 1.85% to $235.74, approaching its own 52-week peak of about $236.48, for a market capitalization of roughly $466 billion. asserted
Chevron → rise → billion
She said refineries were operating near capacity to offset fuel shortages while shipping companies took longer routes and releases from strategic and commercial reserves helped bridge supply gaps. asserted
releases → say → gaps
“I’m proud of the contribution bp is making to keep energy flowing,” O’Neill said, citing the company’s ability to connect oil and gas production with consumers as a source of “strength and resilience” during the disruptions. asserted
O’Neill → ’m → disruptions
The Post has sought comment from Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies. asserted
Post → seek → Chevron
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