Chevron and Exxon rake in profits thanks to diesel prices boosted by Iran and Russia conflicts

Chevron and Exxon Mobil earned significant profits during the third quarter of this year as the companies ran their refineries at full tilt, taking advantage of higher diesel prices.Oil and gas majors have benefited from President Donald Trump’s war in Iran throughout this year, as oil and gas prices have soared due to supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a loss in refining capacity worldwide.While the Trump administration has attempted to lower prices of refined products such as diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel by releasing emergency stockpiles and allowing imports of Russian products, prices have remained extremely elevated. With diesel above $6.30 on average, straining consumers ahead of the midterm elections, the premiums have also greatly benefited oil and gas companies.On Friday, Chevron reported its net income hit $9.9 billion during the third quarter of this year, a nearly 200% increase from the same period in 2025. The company saw its diesel and jet fuel yields rise by around 10%, as it had its facilities run at 98% capacity during the quarter.Exxon Mobil also reported its earnings more than doubled to $15.4 billion during the same period. For the first time in years, Exxon said its refining division outperformed its oil and gas production. The company’s Gulf Coast refineries ran at 100% utilization during the third quarter, and recorded its second-highest diesel production on record.The earnings reports come just two months after President Donald Trump lambasted both Chevron and Exxon for raking in “too much” profit during the second quarter of the year.“Based on a shortage, they’re making too much money,” Trump said in August. “I don’t like it, and I should be the last one to say it because I’m a big free enterprise guy. Nobody bigger.”Chevron had reported its net income increasing to $12.2 billion in the three months that ended in June, an almost 400% jump compared to the same period last year.Exxon recorded a similar increase in profit in the same time frame, jumping to about $14.5 billion, more than double from last year.In August, Trump’s criticism of the oil majors was largely driven by surging gasoline prices. At the time, the average price at the pump was about $4.10 per gallon.While oil and gas prices have continued to surge — the average price for gasoline sits above $4.20 per gallon this week — Trump has changed his rhetoric toward the fossil fuel firms.Last weekend, the president bragged about how much money the domestic oil and gas industry has been making off the war in Iran.During a campaign rally in Georgia, Trump claimed oil prices would be “falling dramatically in a short period of time” as soon as the war in Iran ends. Until then, Trump said, “the United States oil and gas business is making hundreds of billions of dollars.”Trump said global markets are turning to producers and refiners in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and elsewhere in the U.S. for oil. And, combined with oil profits associated with increased production in Venezuela and potentially Greenland, Trump said, “we’re making hundreds and hundreds of billions, trillions of dollars.”TRUMP SAYS CHEVRON AND EXXON MOBIL ARE MAKING ‘TOO MUCH MONEY’ AMID IRAN WARHe indicated that advisers did not want him to tout the surge in oil and gas profits, saying, “My people said, ‘Please don’t mention that, sir, because people are paying a little higher.’”But Trump said that oil and gas prices will “come way down.”