Six EU countries are pushing to put an emergency windfall tax on oil company profits on the table at a September finance...

Six EU countries are pushing to put an emergency windfall tax on oil company profits on the table at a September finance ministers meeting, and Greece's two major refiners are fighting back hard. Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Poland, and Austria sent a joint letter to Ireland, which currently holds the EU presidency, asking for the windfall tax mechanism to be added to the agenda for the September 18-19 Ecofin meeting. The request followed strong first-half 2026 profit results from refiners across Europe, driven by surging refining margins tied to supply disruptions from the Gulf War and damage to Russian refining infrastructure. Motor Oil deputy CEO Petros Tzannetakis pushed back sharply during a call with domestic and international financial analysts last week. He argued that taxing refinery export revenues makes no sense, pointing out that 78.35% of Motor Oil's sales in the first half of 2026 went to export markets, including shipping. He called the windfall tax idea "absurd," especially given that both Motor Oil and HELLENiQ Energy are actively investing and processing crude rather than simply trading it. Tzannetakis also framed Greek refineries as strategically critical for southern Europe's fuel supply, noting that they have kept product flowing despite constrained global supply. HELLENiQ Energy's first-half figures showed that 48% of its refining, supply, and trading sales also went to export markets. The broader picture complicates the windfall tax argument. Global oil product inventories dropped by 5.1 million barrels per day in Q2 2026 and are forecast to fall another 2.2 million barrels per day in Q3. Replenishing diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel stocks could take months or years. Meanwhile, 30 of Europe's 100 largest refineries have shut since 2009, cutting the continent's total refining capacity by 21%. Greece, by contrast, runs four large refineries with a combined annual capacity of roughly 24.9 million tons, making it one of the most refining-intensive countries in Europe relative to its size. The EU finance ministers meeting on September 18-19 is now the central battleground for whether a windfall tax framework moves forward. #Greece #...