Thursday 28 July 2022 09:45, UK
Shell has reported record profits of $11.5bn (£9.4bn) for the second quarter, more than double last year’s figure of $5.5bn (£4.5bn).
The oil giant had already smashed its own quarterly record at the start of the year when it clocked up profits of $9.1bn (£7.2bn), but the sums continued to rise into Q2.
Shell attributed the enormous numbers to higher prices, refining profits and gas trading, though this was partly offset by lower liquefied natural gas trading.
Shell said its shareholder returns will remain “in excess of 30% of cash flow from operating activities”.
Chief executive officer Ben van Beurden said Shell was using “using [its] financial strength to invest in secure energy supplies which the world needs today”.
The record cash flowing into energy companies like Shell has reignited calls for a tougher windfall tax on additional profits on oil and gas, the prices of which have soared, fuelled by Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine and threats to cut off gas supplies to Europe.
Friends of the Earth energy campaigner Sana Yusuf, said the bulk of Shell’s profits “should be used to insulate our homes and help cash-strapped households pay for their heating this winter, rather than developing more fossil fuel projects that roast the planet.”
Responding to the then chancellor Rishi Sunak’s energy profits levy announcement, Shell said in May: “We have consistently emphasised the importance of a stable environment for long term investment.
“This is fundamental to our aim to invest between £20 and £25bn in the UK in the next decade, mostly in low and zero-carbon products and services, with a significant amount also focused on ensuring security of energy supply for the UK.
“We recognise the burden that increased energy prices have across society, in particular on the vulnerable, and have hardship plans in place to help our customers.”
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