The conflict in Ukraine, high inflation and rising energy prices are hurting many companies around the world, but oil companies are posting record earnings. Taking advantage of steep oil and gas prices in the geopolitical context, European oil companies rake in more than €55 billion in the first half of 2022.

According to the Executive Digest portal, Shell in the first quarter 2022 reported a record profit of $9.1 billion, driven by higher oil and gas prices, rising refining costs and strong performance from its commercial division. In the second half, Shell group earnings multiplied fivefold to $18 billion. For the first half total, profit was about 26.590 billion euros.

TotalEnergies tripled earnings in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period last year, earning $18.733 billion, more than the 2021 high of $16.032 billion. In a statement, the oil company attributed the results to high oil and gas prices and refinery margins as part of the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Norwegian energy company Equinor achieved a (net) profit in the second quarter of about $6.8 billion, which together with profits of $4.71 billion in the first quarter reached a total of about 11.293 billion euros.

The Italian oil company ENI, meanwhile, revealed that it posted a profit of 7.398 billion euros in the first half of this year, compared to a net profit of 1.103 billion in the same period of the previous year.

Repsol earned a net profit of €2.539 billion in the first half of 2022, double (105.6% more) than in the same period of 2021, driven by rising commodity prices on world markets.

Galp's profits rose 153% in the first half, compared to the same period of 2021, to 420 million euros, with the results reflecting a "robust operating performance," a figure that compares with net income of 166 million euros last year.

Finally, the only company to record a loss was BP, which lost $11.127 billion in the first half of the year from exiting Rosneft in the first three months of the year, compared to a profit of $7.783 billion in the same period of 2021.