Oil company shares soar to all-time highs as Middle East war turbocharges price per barrel
Shares in big oil companies have soared to all-time highs since the war in Iran began and sparked historic price rises on global oil and gas markets.The combined market value of the six stock market-listed western “super majors” has soared by more than $130bn in the two weeks since the first US-Israeli attacks on Iran.The energy supply shock caused by the conflict has resulted in record stock market valuations for London-listed Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, as well as US oil companies ExxonMobil and Chevron.The market shock is expected to deliver multibillion-dollar windfalls for the industry, even as sites in the Middle East are hit by the conflict.US oil companies can expect a $63.
4bn boost, according to consultancy Rystad Energy.Separately, analysts at Goldman Sachs have predicted a combined £5bn windfall for BP and Shell.Shell was valued at an all-time high of £190bn on the London Stock Exchange on Friday, up by about 12% since 27 February.The sharp rise in prices has been enough to offset the impact of a production shutdown at Qatar’s main liquified natural gas facility, which forced Shell to declare force majeure on deliveries from the site to its customers.Shares in Exxon and Chevron climbed by more than 5% and 7%, respectively, in the fortnight since the Iran war began.
Exxon’s market value climbed to $630bn while Chevron’s valuation climbed to almost $390bn.British oil company BP, French oil company TotalEnergies and ENI, which is partly owned by the Italian government, also recorded substantial share price rises over the last fortnight but have so far remained below their previous all-time highs.BP’s shares climbed by more than 12% since the end of February to reach a market valuation of £82bn, while Total has recorded gains of about 10% to €176bn (£151bn).ENI has climbed by about 13% to €67bnOne of the biggest financial beneficiaries of the global energy market surge is Norway’s state-owned oil company, Equinor, which lists a third of shares.It is Europe’s largest gas supplier and has no production assets in the Middle East.
Its Oslo-listed shares have climbed by more than 20% in a fortnight, although the market value of $90bn remains slightly lower than the all-time highs reached during the gas crisis after Russia invaded Ukraine.The international oil benchmark price climbed to highs of $117 a barrel early in the week and was just above $103 a barrel at the end of UK trading on Friday.Global green group 350.org called on governments to introduce windfall taxes on the world’s biggest oil companies because “working people shouldn’t be paying the price while oil majors treat the war in the Middle East like a winning lottery ticket”.Clémence Dubois, the group’s global campaigns manager, said: “The right response is a strong windfall tax, which should be redirected to support households and accelerate the transition to clean energy that reduces our dependence on the very fuels driving climate disruption and global instability.
”Dubois warned governments against opting for fuel duty cuts.She said: “Cutting fossil fuel taxes during a crisis is not a relief for families, it’s a subsidy for companies that are already enjoying windfall profits.”
Still crazy: chaotic Six Nations showed the timeless appeal of great sporting drama | Robert Kitson
L’Équipe’s front page headline summed it up perfectly. “So Crazy” did not just reflect Saturday night’s dizzying blur of a game in the Stade de France but pretty much the entire 2026 men’s Six Nations championship. Wales beat Italy who defeated Scotland who beat France who beat Ireland who beat England who, you’ve guessed it, beat Wales. Rugby, eh?And maybe that is the single biggest takeaway from the most extraordinary Six Nations of them all. Never mind the players and the coaches, spare a thought for all those distractedly pouring orange juice on their cereal as they vainly try to rationalise six weeks of madness
USA 2-1 Dominican Republic: World Baseball Classic semi-final – as it happened
You can read the full report from tonight’s game here:Post-gameWell that call was ridiculous. It should be runners at the corners with Tatis coming up, but instead it’s all over and I can’t wait to never see that happen again in a big game with the coming of ABS. Man, that is just one of the worst calls in a big spot I have ever seen. We’re talking Don Dekinger bad.But overall, it was a very well played, tight, exciting ballgame
Father and son amateur cricketers combine for mammoth partnership of 590
Darren Cheek will never forget the time he hit 184 against Morphettville Park in 1996 – not for the century, but for the joy of hearing his nine-year-old son Sam cheering excitedly for him from the sidelines.On Saturday in Adelaide, however, the father and son made a new memory as they combined for an opening partnership of 590, against the very same club.Darren, 63, and Sam, 38, were at the crease for the full 40 overs for the Coromandel Cricket Club in their Section 8 match at the Ascot Park primary school oval.Sam hit an unbeaten 402 off 137 balls including 42 sixes and 30 fours, while Darren scored 175 not out off 108 to make a rather impressive-looking scorecard.“We knew that we had to have a big win and we had to get a big percentage quotient on our ladder to get up into the final,” Darren said
Alex Johnston bedlam delivers one of rugby league’s most unforgettable nights | Jack Snape
Alex Johnston is adored by all in rugby league, but even so, this was extreme. On Friday night, as he and his Souths teammates celebrated the second-half try that made him the NRL’s greatest try-scorer, one of the first into the melee was a fan wearing not the cardinal red and myrtle green, but the Roosters’ tricolours.This Craig Salvatori flashback donned a 1990s cotton jersey pulled tight by desperate security, with No 8 on the back, and adorned with a faded Samsung along the belly. As more fans launched themselves over the fence, the guard in yellow flicked his hand dismissively at him, gesturing that he was not worth it and letting him go. The crack in the dam wall quickly became a flood
Cameron Young holds off Matt Fitzpatrick on final hole to win Players Championship
The PGA Tour might have lost out in the court of public opinion over whether the Players Championship could be a major. However, the level of drama as shadows lengthened on this Sawgrass Sunday set the tournament aside from most others.It came down to Cameron Young versus Matt Fitzpatrick. As Fitzpatrick agonisingly missed for par on the 72nd hole, Young had secured the biggest win of his career. He had emerged triumphant from a sporting thriller
More countries, bigger audience but controversy lingered in Milano Cortina
The theme of the closing ceremony of the Winter Paralympics, held at the Olympic curling arena in Cortina D’Ampezzo, was “Italian Souvenir”. It followed, through dance and music, the ambitions of a young girl, played by Sofia Tansella who has spinal muscular atrophy, to see her dreams represented in the world. It was of course a metaphor for the Paralympic movement more broadly, a movement that has been boosted by a successful two weeks in Milano Cortina.The International Paralympic Committee has been able to boast a number of striking milestones at these Games, on the 50th anniversary of the first. Milano Cortina has had the most countries in competition, 55, and the most to win medals, 27
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Relief for some of Britain’s poorest lands at right moment to cushion Iran aftershocks | Heather Stewart