Shell criticised over bumper earnings haul amid soaring oil prices

Shell has revealed quarterly earnings nearly doubled as it continued to capitalise on soaring oil prices caused by the Iran war.

The FTSE 100 oil giant reported a better-than-expected underlying earnings haul of 10.81 billion US dollars (£8.12 billion) for the three months to September 30, up from 5.43 billion dollars (£4.08 billion) a year earlier.

It unveiled plans to further boost returns for shareholders after the profit jump, with another five billion US dollars (£3.75 billion) in share buybacks before the year-end.

Campaigners criticised the profit haul, which comes at a time when households and motorists are suffering painful rises in fuel costs and knock-on inflation caused by the conflict.

Shell said adjusted earnings at its chemicals and products unit – including its oil trading business – ⁠soared even higher, reaching 3.86 billion dollars (£2.9 billion) in the third quarter, against just 550 million dollars (£412.9 million) a year ago.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has seen oil prices soar past 100 dollars a barrel with no sign of an end to the war or the reopening of the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping route.

Wael Sawan, chief executive of Shell, said: “Shell’s relentless focus on operational performance enabled very strong results in a quarter with continued severe disruption to the global energy system.”

Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, took aim at the group, saying: “There is no version of these figures which look even remotely fair.

“Shell earns more in sixty seconds than most people in this country manage in twelve months.”