Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday as renewed tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, including an attack on a vessel transiting the strategic waterway, heightened fears of further disruptions to global oil supplies.
Brent crude, Nigeria’s oil benchmark climbed above $91 a barrel in early Asian trading, while the US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), rose above $85 a barrel, as markets reacted to the latest incident and uncertainty over the future of the US-Iran standoff.
It comes as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report of an incident involving a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz early yesterday.
According to the organisation, the vessel was struck by an unidentified projectile while conducting an outbound transit of the strait, causing damage to its engine room and resulting in a crew casualty.
The development occurred amid heightened security concerns as the United States and Iran remain at odds over control of the strategic shipping route, through which a significant proportion of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies pass.
Brent was trading about 0.69 per cent higher at $91.50 a barrel in early Asian trading, while WTI rose 0.92 per cent to $85.28.
The latest price movement came to the fore as oil majors continue to benefit from the sharp rise in crude prices triggered by the conflict and disruption to shipping through Hormuz.
Eight major oil companies, comprising Saudi Aramco, BP, Shell, Equinor, TotalEnergies, Eni, Chevron and ExxonMobil, collectively earned about $87 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to an analysis.
Their combined profits were nearly double the amount recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025, when the eight companies earned just below $50 billion.
The surge in earnings followed a sharp increase in oil prices after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran and the subsequent conflict led to an almost complete halt in tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has described the resulting disruption as the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.
Brent crude, which was around $68 a barrel at the end of February, climbed to almost $100 a barrel in May as concerns over supply intensified.
Saudi Aramco emerged as the biggest beneficiary among the companies assessed, reporting a 34 per cent increase in quarterly net income to more than $33 billion.
British oil major BP also reported a sharp increase in second-quarter profit, posting $5.73 billion, almost twice its earnings in the same period of 2025 and above analysts’ expectations.
US oil major Chevron recorded its highest quarterly profit in at least six years, with adjusted earnings of $12.2 billion. Its upstream operations contributed $8.2 billion, representing a 200 per cent increase from the previous year.
Shell also reported its second highest quarterly profit as its net income jumped to $9.84 billion, while Equinor’s profit climbed to $3.2 billion in the same period. Besides, ExxonMobil reported a profit of $14.5 billion in the second half of the year. TotalEnergies recorded a Q2 net income of $6 billion and Eni reported $2.65 billion during the period.
The windfall has, however, intensified political and environmental criticism of the oil majors, with governments and campaigners renewing calls for higher taxes on extraordinary profits.
The argument for windfall taxation has gained traction as consumers face higher energy costs and economies grapple with inflation, while oil producers benefit from elevated crude prices.
US President Donald Trump also criticised ExxonMobil and Chevron earlier this month, accusing the companies of making excessive profits from high crude prices.
The disruption has simultaneously renewed concerns over the world’s continued dependence on fossil fuels, with countries willing to pay higher prices to secure oil and gas supplies amid shortages.
Emmanuel Addeh
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