North Sea oil bosses enjoy £19 million personal windfall since outbreak of Iran War

New Greenpeace analysis reveals CEOs at Shell, TotalEnergies, Harbour Energy, and Equinor saw the value of shares
in their own companies jump by £19m in the eight months since the start of the Iran war

Shell CEO Wael Sawan sold £1.3m in shares the day before a potential peace deal was announced

TotalEnergies boss Patrick Pouyanné saw his shares rise in value by nearly £8.4m and cashed in £3.1m in shares and savings

LONDON – As major oil and gas companies prepare to report another round of bumper quarterly profits this week, new analysis by Greenpeace reveals that top oil company bosses have seen the value in their shares in the companies they run soar by nearly £19 million collectively since the onset of the war in Iran and the consequent global energy crisis. [1]

The bosses of four of the largest oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea – Shell, TotalEnergies, Harbour Energy and Equinor [2] – have all seen the value of their shareholdings skyrocket, with several cashing in their personal shares during the crisis. 

The findings come as the oil giants report another set of bumper financial results for the third quarter of the year due to soaring oil and gas prices caused by the conflict in Iran. 

Last week, the government also gave a green light to drilling at the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea – seen as a major coup for Shell and Equinor. All this while millions of working families face rising fuel costs and inflationary pressure driven by fossil fuel prices.

The Greenpeace analysis showed:

• TotalEnergies chief Patrick Pouyanné saw his holding appreciate by nearly £8.4 million during the conflict, selling around £3.1 million in shares and savings just one month after the war began.
  
• Shell Chief Executive Wael Sawan saw the value of his shares rise by more than £4.7 million. Sawan sold approximately £1.3 million in shares on 22 May – the day before Donald Trump said a US–Iran deal had been “largely negotiated”.
  
• Harbour Energy CEO Linda Cook saw her shares rise in value by £4.8 million. She sold about £660,000 of shares in April to pay tax.
  
• Equinor’s Anders Opedal saw his shares rise by £1.03 million.

The analysis is based on the publicly available financial records of the companies between 28 February when the war in Iran broke out and 28 October 2026. It does not include the CEOs’ salaries or other benefits.

Rudy Schulkind, political campaigner at Greenpeace UK said:
“This week marks yet another profit bonanza for fossil fuel companies, but don’t forget the handful of individuals who are making the big decisions while stacking up enormous personal fortunes.

While many families will be forced to choose between heating and eating this winter, oil bosses are treating geopolitical crises like their own personal cash machine, shamelessly capitalising on the fallout for their own enrichment. Meanwhile, their lobbyists work round the clock to persuade the public that companies like Shell and BP serve the interests of regular people. 

Cashing out millions in personal shares while the market drives millions of people into energy poverty – all while their companies’ operations supercharge climate breakdown – is crisis profiteering at its most cynical. The UK government must stop treating these companies with velvet gloves and introduce new and additional polluter taxes to pay for the climate damage they’ve caused.”

Liz Genever, a farmer in Lincolnshire, said:
“Last summer alone, severe drought cost my farm over £55,000. Shell’s emissions are driving deadly heatwaves and ordinary people working hard to make a living are paying the price. 

“Our farm is struggling due to changes with the climate, and we need to make significant changes to stay in business. Wael Sawan and his mates are destroying our livelihoods and legacy by fuelling the climate crisis that’s driving extreme weather. Not only that, they’re manipulating governments to delay the clean energy transition we so desperately need, while enjoying their luxury lifestyles and filling their pockets. It’s horrendous. 

“The government needs to crack on and end this toxic loop by making big oil pay for the wide ranging damage.”

Each chief executive’s shares also performed considerably better than the overall fate of  their home stock markets. Sawan’s rose 27% against a 2.0% fall for the FTSE 100; Pouyanné’s rose 21% against an 8.1% fall for France’s CAC 40; Opedal’s rose 55% against an 8% rise for Oslo’s OBX Price Index; and Cook’s rose 20% against 4% for the FTSE 250.

Greenpeace is calling on the government to introduce new and additional taxes on fossil fuel companies to speed up the transition to clean energy and raise vital revenues to support people through the cost of living and climate crises. 

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. Figures are based on closing share prices from 27 February to 28 October 2026, and some are estimates. The full details and sources are available in the methodology here: Oil Majors share gains methodology – 28 Oct 2026 
2. BP is not included in the analysis because its CEO Meg O’Neill joined on 1 April and owned no publicised BP shares before she joined.