Shell's quarterly profits nearly doubled to £7.29 billion after the US-Iran war pushed oil prices sharply higher, drawing accusations of "pure corporate greed" from campaigners and politicians.
The figure for the three months to June 30 compares with £3.2 billion in the same period a year earlier, making it the company's second-best quarterly profits ever. Shell said higher base prices and trading volatility linked to the conflict were key drivers. Brent crude is currently trading at $91 a barrel, up from around $72 before the war began.
Howard Cox, founder of FairFuelUK, said: "This is pure corporate greed." He said drivers had been "fleeced by sky-high petrol and diesel prices since the conflict in Iran began." Cox added: "Oil fat cats are laughing all the way to the bank as hardworking families, van drivers and hauliers get clobbered at the pumps."
The Royal Automobile Club was predicting petrol prices could surpass 160 pence per litre on Friday, which it said would be a new record since the Iran conflict began. Before the war broke out in late February, prices were around 131 pence per litre, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: "Shell makes more profit in a single minute than most people in this country earn in a year." He added: "As wildfires rage and temperatures climb, the very fuels heating the planet are also heating company profits, while households pay the price on their bills."
Katherine May, Oxfam Scotland's advocacy adviser, said the prime minister should start by making "the biggest and richest polluters pay their fair share" if he was serious about easing pressure on household budgets.
Friends of the Earth energy campaigner Danny Gross called it "outrageous that Shell is making huge profits while continuing to fuel the climate crisis." Green Party leader Zack Polanski called the result "obscene," saying food and fuel prices were soaring while oil and gas companies' profits did the same.
The results come as Andy Burnham faces calls from the fossil fuel sector to allow more drilling in North Sea oilfields, which climate campaigners want blocked. Shell argues approval for these fields could supply the UK with 10 per cent of its natural gas needs. Francis warned: "The drill more, bill more approach simply locks households into another cycle of gas price shocks."
Shell chief executive Wael Sawan said the company had delivered "very strong results during another quarter of severe disruption in global energy markets." The company also announced $3 billion in new share buybacks, on top of $1.2 billion previously announced.
