Shell rakes in $12B profit as Middle East war drives up prices

Oil and gas giant Shell has recorded $10.8 billion in adjusted quarterly profits – double what it made in the same period last year – as war in the Middle East boosts energy prices.

Since the US and Israel began attacking Iran this year, Shell’s fuel products have risen in value, largely due to strikes on competing refineries in the region that produce petrol and diesel.

The corporation, which moved its headquarters out of The Hague to London in 2022, made record profits after Russia invaded Ukraine the same year, and has seen profits surge again since the outbreak of war with Iran.

MPs have called for a windfall tax to prevent Shell or other energy conglomerates from profiting from geopolitical conflict.

Shell’s move to London makes placing a levy on the profits harder, however, and the European Commission has also ruled out an EU-wide windfall tax, saying it’s a matter for individual nations.