European oil cos drop on Middle East de-escalation hopes

Aker BP ASA

01/04/2026 08:41

** Shares in major European oil companies slide after oil prices tumbled more than 3% on Wednesday as hopes for a de-escalation in the Middle East grow

** U.S. President Donald Trump's comments that the month-long conflict in the Middle East could come to an imminent end, even without a deal, helped broader market sentiment but sent oil prices down

** The front-month Brent contract for June LCOc1 fell 3.2% to $100.64 per barrel at 0641 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May CLc1 slipped 3.3% to $98.04 per barrel

** Shares in Repsol REP.MC, Maurel & Prom MAUP.PA and Aker BP AKRBP.OL, fall 5.2% to 5.7%, while Equinor EQNR.OL drops 7%

** Orlen PKN.WA, TotalEnergies TTEF.PA and OMV OMVV.VI fall 1.5%, 2.4% and 2.7%, respectively

** Eni ENI.MI and Galp GALP.LS slide about 3% to 4%

 (Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga)

 ((javier.west@thomsonreuters.com; +34 918 35 61 12))