Energy giant Shell’s profit more than doubled in the first quarter as the war in the Middle East pushed oil and gas prices higher, the company has revealed in its latest earnings report.

Adjusted earnings reached $6.9 billion, more than twice the figure for the final quarter of last year and well ahead of the $6.4 billion analysts had predicted.

Higher oil and gas prices accounted for most of the gains. Shell’s trading division also benefited from sharp price swings, which are an opportunity for traders willing to bet on additional risk.

The company has significant operations in the Middle East and said a gas installation in Qatar was damaged in March. Repairs are expected to take around a year.

Trading boost

Most of the energy sector has made similar gains. ExxonMobil reported last week that it had lost around $400 million from production sites shut down in the region, but gained $1.7 billion from higher commodity prices.

The same instability has added political pressure on the Dutch cabinet to extract more domestic gas. NAM, jointly owned by Shell and ExxonMobil, began work last month to restart drilling at a small Groningen onshore field.

Shareholder payouts trimmed

Shell will buy back $3 billion of its own shares over the next three months, down from $3.5 billion in the previous quarter. The dividend has been raised by 5%, compared with 4% a quarter earlier.

ABN Amro analyst Thijs Berkelder told the Financieele Dagblad the smaller buyback was tied to Shell’s $16.4 billion acquisition of Canadian shale producer ARC Resources, announced last week. Cutting share repurchases frees up cash for the deal, he said.

Last year Shell scrapped its flagship biofuels plant at Pernis in Rotterdam, saying the project would not be commercially competitive.