Oil majors face spending test from Iran war windfall cash
By Stephanie Kelly, Dimitri Rhodes and Sheila Dang LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) Oil majors are set to post a big jump in third-quarter profit as the US-Israeli war on Iran has boosted refining and trading results, while investors will monitor how wisely they use their cash piles and whether they resist a spending spree. The severe disruption of the Strait of Hormuz since US-Israeli airstrikes began the war in February has pushed energy prices to multi-year highs, allowing trading desks to profit from the volatility. In a sector notorious in the past for boom and bust, the majors have all promised this time to refrain from losing control of costs in what is one of the highest-earning years for global oil producers in recent memory. Shell, BP and TotalEnergies all expect refining margins to increase three- to fourfold in the third quarter from a year ago, with Shell guiding for a record high of $42 a barrel. TotalEnergies expects cash flow from its refining and chemicals business to