Oil and gas giant Shell has reported record annual profits up 12% at $25.4bn for 2006. Shell said strong operations in the US and growth in deep-water gas production off Nigeria helped boost its fortunes.

But the company said it was continuing to deal with ‘major security related concerns’ in Nigeria’s Delta oil producing region, where attacks on pipelines have reduced production by 191,000 barrels on the previous year.
Shell also lost its key interests in the Russian Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project to Gazprom, following Kremlin pressure.
Meanwhile, chairman Jeroen van der Veer told the Financieele Dagblad the company had not yet taken a final decision about its proposed investment in Iran.