{
  "id": 15969347,
  "title": "Big Oil Eyes Record Profits but Keeps Spending in Check",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/big-oil-eyes-record-profits-but-keeps-spending-in-check",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-21T23:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "OilPrice",
    "slug": "oilprice",
    "url": "https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Big-Oil-Eyes-Record-Profits-but-Keeps-Spending-in-Check.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Big oil companies have been enjoying significant profits since the start of the war in the Middle East. Despite some regions planning to impose windfall taxes, these companies are not planning a spending spree. Instead, they are using their earnings to pay down debt and explore new opportunities. In the second quarter, oil and gas majors reported strong growth, with annual growth of 128.2% for the sector. Industry heavyweights like Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, and Exxon are expected to report record profits for the third quarter, ranging from $5.6 billion to $16.2 billion. However, these companies are not planning to use their profits for high-cost exploration. Instead, they are focusing on paying down debt and investing in exploration in regions like Africa, South America, and the Middle East, despite the ongoing war.",
  "summary": "Oil supermajors have been raking it in since the war in the Middle East began. They are now set to report another robust quarter, even as some jurisdictions where they operate plan to slap windfall taxes on them. The question now is what Big Oil will do with these profits. The answer: it probably won’t be a spending spree. They sure have the money for a spree. If the second quarter is any…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}