Fuel prices remain stubbornly high due to Iran war, but BP profits have doubled
The British oil giant recorded profits of £2.4billion between January and March 2026 in light of sky-high oil prices
Fuel prices have remained stubbornly high as British oil giant, BP, admits that its profits have doubled since the start of the Iran war, drawing widespread criticism from across the industry.
In its Q1 earning report, BP says that it recorded “exceptional” profits of £2.4 billion – more than double the roughly £1billion earned during the same period of between January and March last year.
Since the start of the Iran conflict, the price of Brent crude oil has rocketed, peaking at $120 per barrel and now sitting at around $110 – far above the pre-war level of roughly $73. In turn, this has sent the price of petrol and diesel spiralling, having peaked at more than 158 pence and 191 pence per litre for each fuel respectively.
Now, as peace talks between the countries involved stall and oil prices remain high, some early signs of a potential decline in fuel prices look to have been optimistic. This, in conjunction with BP’s earnings announcement, appears to have restoked the fire when it comes to criticism over oil companies and fuel retailers profiteering over the conflict.
Howard Cox, the founder of FairFuel UK, said: “There is no getting around the stark fact that pump prices have reached punitive heights, predominantly due to opportunistic profiteering. Worse still, there are no signs that forecourt petrol prices, particularly diesel, will drop to the levels we experienced prior to the Iran conflict over the next six months.”
At the other end of the political spectrum, Maja Darlington, climate campaigner at Greenpeace UK, described the situation as: “an entirely predictable disaster for everyone except the oil industry”.
She added: “BP’s profits are booming, with [US president Donald] Trump’s bombs bringing billions for them and bigger bills for us. Britain subsidizes this industry to the tune of several billion a year, and yet they’ll still claim to be over taxed. Today’s numbers make a convincing case that the opposite is true.”
Earlier this year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves commissioned the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate whether the fuel industry has taken part in ‘price gouging’ and to keep an eye out for examples of so-called ‘rocket and feather’ pricing – when costs reactively rise and then take a long time to drop back to normal levels.
However, some criticise the Exchequer for also profiteering from the volatile situation. According to the RAC Foundation, the Iran war has so far cost drivers an additional £1.4billion at the pumps compared with if fuel prices had remained at pre-conflict levels. Director Steve Gooding said: “Whether or not we [are] on the cusp of meaningful peace, drivers continue to pay a huge ‘war premium’ at the pumps, and the Exchequer continues to receive tens of millions of pounds from drivers in a VAT windfall it wasn’t expecting.”
According to the RAC, the average price of fuel is currently 157.13 pence per litre for petrol and 189.01 pence for diesel. Stay tuned to Auto Express for updates.
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