Shell profit triples to $10.8bn as oil prices rise

Shell said Thursday that its net profit tripled to $10.8 billion in the second quarter, as the Middle East war pushed oil prices higher and disrupted energy markets.

The British energy company said profit after tax for April to June compared with $3.6 billion in the same period of 2025. Revenue rose 45% to $96.4 billion.

Chief executive Wael Sawan said Shell's operational performance had delivered “very strong results” during another quarter of severe disruption in global energy markets.

Crude futures traded far higher in the second quarter of 2026 than a year earlier as the US-Iran war disrupted global supplies. Shell said higher realised prices were partly offset by lower volumes, mainly because of the Middle East conflict.

Shell said gas production fell to 631,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in April to June, from 909,000 barrels per day in the first quarter. The company said gas output was affected after Ras Laffan in northern Qatar, described as the world's largest liquefied natural gas hub, suffered significant damage in the war.

Shell also said its latest share buyback would return $3 billion to shareholders. Its shares rose 1.6% in early trading on London's FTSE 100 index.

Keith Bowman, an equity analyst at Interactive Investor, said records for upstream production in Brazil and refinery utilisation helped counter hindered Middle East output.

The earnings drew criticism from climate and aid groups. Greenpeace political campaigner Rudy Schulkind linked fossil fuel company profits to severe climate events, while Oxfam's climate policy lead Mariana Paoli called for governments to rein in large oil companies. Oxfam estimated that a tax on the profits of the largest fossil fuel corporations could raise up to $400 billion globally in its first year.