Oil giant TotalEnergies reports sharp rise in profits on high oil and LNG prices

French multinational oil company TotalEnergies expects refining margins to quadruple year on year in the third quarter and LNG revenues to surge. The company said in a statement today that these factors will drive its quarterly profits.

The war launched by the US and Israel against Iran has effectively closed the key Strait of Hormuz and pushed oil and gas prices to multi-year highs. The market is also bracing for strong winter demand, bringing windfall profits to major energy companies such as TotalEnergies, Reuters noted.

TotalEnergies expects to report a refining margin of 33,2 USD per barrel for the period from the beginning of July to the end of September, up from 13,50 USD per barrel in the previous quarter and almost four times the 8,4 USD per barrel reported a year ago, the company said in a trading update.

The war against Iran is reducing the company's oil production by 125.000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from 210.000 barrels of oil equivalent per day reported in the second quarter.

TotalEnergies shares were up 1,25 percent before 14:00 CEST. They have gained almost 45 percent since the beginning of the year.

Rival British company Shell announced last week that it expects a record-high refining margin for the third quarter. BP said on Tuesday that its refining margin is expected to triple year on year.