SHELL REPORTS £7.37BN QUARTERLY PROFIT AMID IRAN WAR OIL VOLATILITY

Shell reported underlying profits of £7.37 billion for the second quarter ending 30 June, exceeding analyst forecasts of £6.59 billion. The figure more than doubled the £3.19 billion recorded in the same quarter of the previous year. Combined with first-quarter profits of £5.18 billion, Shell's half-year underlying profits reached £12.55 billion, according to the company's financial disclosure.

The substantial profits coincided with volatile crude oil prices linked to the Iran war. Brent crude oil reached $120 per barrel at its peak before fluctuating, trading above $90 this week amid negotiations between the United States and Iran. Shell's Pearl GTL production facility in Qatar ceased operations in March following attacks on the site. Meanwhile, UK households faced rising energy costs, with the Ofgem price cap increasing by 13 this year, and fuel prices remained elevated — petrol averaging 159.05 pence per litre and diesel 177.59 pence per litre according to RAC data.

Environmental groups criticised Shell's results. Rudy Schulkind, political campaigner at Greenpeace, called for the Labour government to implement increased taxation on oil and gas company profits rather than continuing to shield them. Flossie Boyd, senior campaigner at Global Witness, stated that Shell's earnings illustrated how fossil fuel companies benefited whilst the public bore the costs of pollution, amid ongoing wildfires in France and Spain and heat-related challenges in the UK.