The Iran war and the loss of oil and gas supply from the Middle East have upended the stock performance of the biggest international majors. BP, the laggard of the past six years, has moved ahead of all others, while the top performer since 2020, ExxonMobil, has seen the worst stock showing among Big Oil since the war began.
To be sure, none of the five supermajors – ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and TotalEnergies – have been close to replicating the 45% surge in crude oil futures since February 28, according to stock market data compiled by Bloomberg.
But BP has outperformed all its rivals with about 20% increase in its shares since the end of February.
BP, more than other supermajors, suffered from the green strategy from 2020, with shareholders unhappy and demanding changes, and a share price severely underperforming those of its peers and the surge in oil prices in 2022-2023.
Revolt among shareholders has been brewing for years over rising debt and an underperforming share price, with activist hedge fund Elliott Investment Management especially vocal in its demand for a turnaround at the supermajor.
Last year, under intense shareholder pressure, BP announced a major strategy reset to slash investments in renewable energy and focus on its core business of boosting its oil and gas production.
Due to the extreme market volatility since the Iran war began, BP expects to have booked an “exceptional” oil trading result for the first quarter of 2026 when it reports Q1 results on Tuesday.
While BP’s stock has outperformed its peers, Exxon’s shares have lost about 2% since the war began, because part of its oil and gas production in the Middle East and all LNG volumes in which it has stakes in Qatar are trapped at the Strait of Hormuz and are unable to leave the region.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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