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Shell posts highest quarterly profit in four years amid Iran conflict

Shell reported $9.84bn in net profit for the second quarter, more than double year-on-year and its strongest quarterly result in four years, as oil and gas prices surged due to the Middle East conflict. Production in its integrated gas division fell 30% amid a strike in Qatar. Environmental campaigners renewed calls for a windfall tax.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 30, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

Shell, Europe's biggest oil and gas company, posted a net profit of $9.84bn (£7.4bn) for the second quarter, more than double the figure for the same period last year, according to the company's financial report. The Guardian reported that the surge in profit is attributable to the jump in oil and gas prices triggered by war in the Middle East, with wholesale energy prices soaring and boosting profit margins and trading activity. TASS, citing Shell's report and CEO Wael Sawan, described the result as the company's highest quarterly profit in four years, surpassing the $4.26bn posted in the second quarter of 2025 and trailing only the $11.47bn recorded in Q2 2022.

Coverage comparison

The two outlets covering the story approached it from different angles. The Guardian's coverage focused on the link between the Middle East conflict and Shell's financial performance, emphasising the human and environmental costs of the profit surge and quoting environmental campaigners. TASS, the Russian state news agency, reported the financial figures with a neutral tone, framing them in the context of the military conflict in Iran, which it dates to a US and Israeli operation launched on February 28. While The Guardian did not specifically mention a conflict in Iran, TASS provided a detailed timeline of the military events, including Iran's retaliatory operation and subsequent threats to oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Both outlets agree on the headline figure of $9.84bn and the year-on-year doubling, but they differ in their framing of the causes. The Guardian attributes the profit surge to war in the Middle East more broadly, while TASS specifically names the conflict in Iran. They also diverge on the timeline of the conflict: TASS places the start on February 28, while The Guardian refers to disruptions to oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz but does not specify a start date. The Guardian also noted that global oil prices climbed from about $61 a barrel in January to highs of $126 at the end of April, a figure not mentioned by TASS.

Key claims

Profit more than doubled year-on-year: Both outlets reported Shell's net profit of $9.84bn for the second quarter, more than double the $4.26bn posted in the same period of 2025.
Highest quarterly profit in four years: TASS reported that this was Shell's strongest quarterly result since Q2 2022, when profit reached $11.47bn.
Cause: war in the Middle East: The Guardian attributed the profit surge to the jump in oil and gas prices triggered by war in the Middle East, while TASS cited the military conflict in Iran as a contributing factor.
Oil price rise: According to The Guardian, the global oil price rose from about $61 a barrel in January to highs of $126 at the end of April, citing disruptions to flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude traded at $93.18 a barrel on the Thursday before publication.
Production drop in integrated gas division: The Guardian reported a 30% drop in production from Shell's integrated gas division compared to the same quarter last year, following a strike at the Ras Laffan LNG complex in Qatar in March. Repairs were expected to take about a year.
Military operation against Iran: TASS reported that the United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28, targeting major cities including Tehran, and that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a large-scale retaliatory operation targeting Israel and US facilities in several regional countries.
Threats to oil shipping: TASS reported that on March 11 an Iranian representative said Iran would not allow oil cargoes linked to the US and its allies to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about one-fifth of global oil exports.

Perspectives

Environmental campaigners

The Guardian quoted Rudy Schulkind, a political campaigner at Greenpeace, who described the profits as an "obscenity" and linked them to the impacts of climate change, saying "Shell takes the profits, and the rest of us pick up the catastrophic bill." He called on the government to implement a windfall tax on big oil companies to fund support for households hardest hit by rising energy costs.

Shell

Shell's CEO, Wael Sawan, said there had been "severe disruption in global energy markets" due to the war, as reported by The Guardian.

How each outlet told it

The Guardian — World as of Jul 30, 2026, 7:46 AM UTC

Framing: Shell's profit surge due to war in the Middle East — Critical of Shell's profits and the impact of the war on the environment

Facts Included:

Shell's net profit hit $9.84bn in the second quarter
The profit is more than double compared to the same period last year
The surge in profit is due to the jump in oil and gas prices triggered by war in the Middle East
The global oil price has climbed from $61 a barrel in January to highs of $126 at the end of April
Shell's production from its integrated gas division dropped by 30% compared to the same quarter last year

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of Jul 30, 2026, 11:30 AM UTC

Framing: Shell's quarterly profit amid military conflict in Iran — Neutral, focusing on the financial aspects

Facts Included:

Shell's earnings totaled $9.84 bln between April and June
The company's profit is the highest quarterly profit in four years
The military conflict in Iran is mentioned as a factor contributing to Shell's profit
The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran
Iran's retaliatory operation targeting Israel and US facilities in the region

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimShell's net profit hit $9.84bn in the second quarter. The profit is more than double compared to the same period last year.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from The Guardian — World as of Jul 30, 2026, 7:46 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe surge in profit is due to the jump in oil and gas prices triggered by war in the Middle East.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from The Guardian — World as of Jul 30, 2026, 7:46 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe global oil price has climbed from $61 a barrel in January to highs of $126 at the end of April.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 30, 2026, 7:46 AM UTC
ClaimShell's production from its integrated gas division dropped by 30% compared to the same quarter last year.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 30, 2026, 7:46 AM UTC
ClaimThe United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 30, 2026, 11:30 AM UTC
ClaimIran's retaliatory operation targeted Israel and US facilities in the region.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 30, 2026, 11:30 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: The Guardian — World, TASS — English 6 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14