ROYAL Dutch Shell has reaped rich rewards from the oil-price bonanza, announcing record profits of £6.6 billion for the three months to September.
The UK-Dutch company's 71 per cent leap in earnings took its profits to the equivalent of £72 million a day.
Shell wasn't the only company to benefit from the surge in oil prices, which peaked at $147 a barrel over the summer. Texas-based Exx
on-Mobil also posted record profits yesterday, of £9.1 billion for the quarter.
These results – along with rival BP's record £6.4 billion quarterly profits unveiled on Tuesday – are expected to trigger renewed calls for a windfall tax.
Motoring groups applauded the results for helping to shore up the economy, but they also called for more investment in diesel production to cut pump prices.
Shell achieved its hike in profits despite selling less oil.
Production fell by 1 per cent compared with last year because of hurricane damage in the Gulf of Mexico hitting refineries, and maintenance work in the North Sea.
However, Shell's average selling price soared to more than $111 a barrel compared with less than $71 a years ago.
Oil prices have since fallen back to less than half their mid-July peak to about $70 a barrel, as fears mount over global demand slackening.
Jeroen van der Veer, Shell's chief executive, refused to get carried away by yesterday's results, and described them only as "satisfactory".
He said the company was watching the global economic situation closely, but Shell, which has dual headquarters in London and the Hague, in the Netherlands, would remain profitable.
Alexandre Weinberg, an analyst with Petercam Securities, said the results were "clearly better than what was expected … and this is throughout all divisions".
Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil firm, which owns Esso, reported profits up 58 per cent for the period, as they hit a new record for the United States.
Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, called for motorists to be given the benefit of lower oil prices.
He said: "I want the oil companies to pass on these reductions to the pumps as soon as possible, because people are entitled to see the benefits."
Between them, Shell and BP have posted profits totalling £13 billion this week.
The AA called on the firms to help drivers switching to diesel.
Luke Bosdet, its spokesman, said: "We would like to see more investment in diesel production, because pump prices have remained stubbornly around 11p a litre above those for unleaded.
"A lot of people are switching to diesel to cut fuel costs and carbon dioxide emissions, but the extra cost at the pumps is making that more and more difficult."
Mr Bosdet added that the oil firms were a positive force amid the current financial maelstrom, and were not responsible for high fuel prices.
He said: "Thank God for Shell and BP. With our financial system partially collapsing, we are going to have to rely on these companies to keep the country afloat.
"Their profit levels are to be expected with the high price of oil, but they are not really to blame – it was the speculators over the summer. The oil companies have simply benefited."
