Oil industry pockets €3bn in EU profits at the pump since invasion of Ukraine, research suggests

Governments are being urged to impose windfall taxes, with oil firms accused of ‘shameless profiteering from Ukraine’s suffering’, Andy Gregory reports

Prices at the pumps have risen more sharply than elsewhere in the supply chain, analysis shows (Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images)

Oil companies have raked in a “record” €3bn in extra revenue through the sale of diesel and petrol in the European Union since Russia invaded Ukraine, new research suggests.

As consumers struggle to bear the cost of unprecedented fuel price hikes, research commissioned by Greenpeace suggests that the oil sector saw revenues increase by an average of €107m each day in March.

The campaign group is urging EU governments to bring in windfall taxes on oil sector profits in order to “stop this shameless profiteering from Ukraine’s suffering”, and to investigate potential price-fixing – with probes already underway in Germany and Austria.