Key facts
- Eight major oil producers earned a combined $93 billion in Q2 2026, nearly double the previous year's earnings.
- The conflict involving Iran has disrupted the Strait of Hormuz, a critical energy corridor.
- Crude oil prices, including Brent, have seen significant volatility, trading around $89 a barrel.
- Saudi Aramco, BP, and Chevron reported substantial profit increases.
- The UAE is expanding its Fujairah pipeline to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
- Saudi Arabia and Iraq are developing alternative oil export routes via pipelines.
Major oil-producing nations Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are actively working to increase their oil reserves held overseas, specifically in Japan and South Korea. This strategic move comes as ongoing conflict involving Iran continues to threaten vital shipping routes, particularly the Strait of Hormuz.
In the second quarter of 2026, eight of the world's largest oil producers, including Saudi Aramco, BP, Shell, Equinor, TotalEnergies, Eni, Chevron, and ExxonMobil, collectively reported profits of $93 billion. This figure nearly doubles their earnings from the same period in 2025, driven by elevated oil prices and significant disruptions to global oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The International Energy Agency has characterized the resulting supply shock as the most severe in the history of the global oil market, with daily flows through Hormuz plummeting from approximately 20 million barrels to near zero.
Saudi Aramco led the profit surge with a 34% increase in net income to over $33 billion. BP saw its second-quarter profit nearly double to $5.73 billion, while Chevron reported $12 billion in adjusted earnings. Crude oil prices experienced volatility, with Brent crude rising from around $68 a barrel in February to nearly $100 in May, and trading at approximately $89 a barrel by mid-August, supported by stalled US-Iran talks and reduced tanker traffic.
To mitigate reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf nations are investing in alternative infrastructure. The UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is expanding its West-East pipeline to Fujairah, aiming to double land-based export capacity to 3.6 million barrels per day by 2027, allowing direct access to the Arabian Sea. Saudi Arabia already operates the 1,200-km East-West Pipeline (Petroline) to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, with plans to potentially expand its capacity. Iraq is developing the Basra-Haditha pipeline to transport crude through Turkey, Syria, and Jordan, and is also discussing an Iraq-Jordan Export Pipeline to reach Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba, thereby bypassing the Persian Gulf entirely.