While the world counts the losses from a closed Hormuz, BP is counting profits. In the first quarter of 2026, the British oil giant's profit hit $3.198 billion - more than double the same period last year, when it was $1.381 billion. Analysts expected $2.7 billion. They got more.

The formula is simple: the Iran conflict, the attacks on the Strait of Hormuz starting in March 2026, and the resulting shutdown of a key oil corridor - all of it has pushed crude above $108 a barrel. For companies that pump and sell oil, that's pure upside.

"The results reflect an exceptionally strong oil operation," the company said. The short statement says everything - and says nothing about the fact that those results are propped up by a geopolitical crisis, a military conflict, and price hikes that ordinary people around the world are feeling at the pump.

This is what an oil economy in crisis looks like: for consumers, every liter more expensive; for oil companies, every quarter more profitable. Both happening at once, for the same reason.