Italian energy group Eni is boosting its payout to investors with an extraordinary dividend and increased share buybacks after more than doubling its third-quarter earnings on higher oil and gas production and soaring refining margins.
Eni’s adjusted net profit more than doubled from a year earlier to $3.14 billion (2.8 billion euros) for the third quarter, driven by higher oil and gas production and realizations and more than doubled refining margins across its operations, the Italian company said on Friday.
The profit topped consensus estimates of $2.8 billion (2.5 billion euros) and jumped by 125% on the year, as oil and gas production rose by 4% and cash flow from operations surged by 30%. The refining and chemicals division booked earnings of $529 million (472 million euros) compared to small losses in both the second quarter of 2026 and the third quarter of 2025.
The refining results were “driven by improved plant utilization rates into a strong scenario, partly capped by higher shipping costs and unfavorable differentials between heavy/sour vs light/sweet crudes,” Eni said.
The Standard Eni Refining Margin soared to $28.1 per barrel in the third quarter from $8.9 a year ago and $8.3 per barrel in Q2. Year to date, the refining margin tripled to $15.5 per barrel from $5.8 per barrel.
“Considering the excellent operating and financial performance of the nine months ‘26 and an improved cash flow projection” for the full year, Eni will pay a total of $1.46 billion (1.3 billion euros) in extraordinary dividends in December and will further boost its share buyback program by 12% to $4.26 billion (3.8 billion euros), the company said.
This is the third upward revision of the share repurchase program so far this year.
In the outlook for the full year, Eni said that 2026 is “developing as a year of outperformance thanks to solid business trends, enabling us to capture the upside of a supportive commodity scenario. This is translating into exceptional shareholders’ returns.”
Other European majors, including TotalEnergies, Shell, and BP, also expect to report strong third-quarter earnings next week on robust trading and soaring refining margins.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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