Oil CEOs Pop Champagne as Profits Announced
‘Exceptional’ Oil Profits Announcement ‘Celebrated’ by Mock CEOs drinking champagne on Oil Barrels
Visual action coincides with global fossil fuel transition talks in Colombia
EMBARGOED: 7am BST/2am EDT on Tuesday 28 April
Contact: Adam Musgrave (English-speaking), Oxfam, +44 7810 836453, adam.musgrave@oxfam.org
Contact: Silvia Andrea Pineda (Spanish-speaking), Trineo Communications, +57 321 2948074, Prensa@trineo.co
SANTA MARTA, COLOMBIA — Activists stage a beach photo opportunity as the first oil major publishes ‘exceptional’ first quarter results following the conflict in the middle east.
Mock oil company CEOs posed on brightly coloured oil barrels, drinking champagne with dollar notes stuffed in their pockets in a staged “celebration” of fossil fuel profits. A large “Make Polluters Pay” inflatable blimp was positioned above the beach as a backdrop.
Make Polluters Pay, a global campaign calling for fossil fuel companies to be held accountable for climate and economic impacts, argues this extraordinary profits moment underlines the urgent need for governments to act — ensuring oil and gas giants contribute billions more to fund a rapid transition to secure, affordable renewable energy.
Today’s announcement is expected to begin a run of bumper first quarter profits announcements, as fossil fuel companies cash in on the latest global price spike — while billions face rising energy bills and climate chaos.
The action is supported by the Make Polluters Pay campaign, Oxfam, the Artivist Network, the Glasgow Actions Team and War on Want.
The action takes place alongside the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia - an international diplomatic effort to accelerate cooperation and explore pathways toward coordinated international approaches to fossil fuel phase-out and a just transition for workers and communities.
Louise Hutchins - Make Polluters Pay Coalition said:
“This is the oil and gas economy in plain sight — ‘exceptional’ profits for a few, while billions pay the price through rising bills and climate chaos.
But this moment could mark a turning point. Public anger is rising, and governments are now seriously considering windfall taxes and taking urgent steps to get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster.
This should only be the beginning. It’s time polluters paid their fair share for a rapid transition to safer, more affordable, renewable energy.”
Adam Musgrave, Oxfam
“These bumper profits must be taxed — without fail and without delay.
New polling across 7 countries shows two-thirds of the public support taxing big oil and gas companies to help fund the transition to renewable energy.
Making polluters pay isn’t just fair — it’s popular.”
Tyrone Scott of War on Want said:
“We're here fighting against a rigged system which allows oil giants to celebrate billions in profits, while the Global South is pushed deeper into crisis, debt, and destruction. These profits are soaked in injustice. Governments must stop shielding fossil fuel corporations and start forcing them to pay for the damage they’ve caused, funding a just and equitable transition.”
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Notes to editors
The Make Polluters Pay international coalition is an international movement to make the fossil fuel industry pay for the damage they’ve caused. It brings together climate, development and faith groups, affected communities, political leaders, artists and experts to hold big oil, gas, and coal accountable – funding a fairer, cleaner, safer world for all.
The oil majors banked more than $30m every hour in unearned profit in the first month of the conflict and are projected to make around $234 billion in excess profits by the end of 2026 if oil prices remain above $100 per barrel. In just four weeks, the combined market capitalisation of the 5 largest North Sea oil companies - Shell, TotalEnergies, BP, Equinor and Harbour Energy, jumped by £73.5 billion.
Oxfam has calculated that Fossil fuel companies are projected to earn almost $3,000 a second in 2026 while families struggle to afford energy bills worldwide
New polling commissioned by Oxfam in seven countries found that approximately two thirds (68 percent) of people supported increasing taxes on the profits of large oil and gas corporations to help fund the transition to renewables.
International momentum to make polluters pay is building. The finance ministers of Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria have made a joint call for an EU-wide windfall tax on energy companies' profits. Australia’s PM is modelling a gas and coal tax.
Globally, developing countries are expected to face around $400 billion a year in climate-related loss and damage by 2030 largely caused by the fossil fuel industry, with wider impacts on global stability and supply chains.
The Santa Marta Conference on Transitioning from fossil fuels is the first ever global diplomatic initiative for countries, subnational governments and other stakeholders that recognize the need to implement a transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner, in line with climate goals and the best available science.
International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol recently said ‘The damage is done: The oil crisis triggered by the Iran war has changed the fossil fuel industry for ever, turning countries away from fossil fuels to secure energy supplies.
