Shell posts $6.7 billion profit

LONDON 

British energy giant Shell yesterday announced net profit totalling $6.7 billion in the third quarter, as oil and gas prices remain strong despite recent slides on easing supply fears.    

The result compared with a loss after tax of $447 million in the July-September period last year, Shell said.     

Flush with cash from revenue surging to almost $100 billion, Shell said it would buy back shares at a cost of $4 billion.   

“We are delivering robust results at a time of ongoing volatility in global energy markets,” said Shell’s outgoing chief executive Ben van Beurden.     

The latest profit, however, was far lower than its second-quarter net income of $18 billion.    

Shell alerted the market on the comparison earlier this month, blaming the drop on a slump in refining margins.    

Although oil and gas prices have surged from a year ago following the invasion of Ukraine by major energy producer Russia, hydrocarbon values have seen some recent cooling as the northern hemisphere experiences mild temperatures and countries shore up supplies.            

Shell last month announced that van Beurden would step down as CEO at the end of the year, as the energy major looks to reinvent itself under group renewables boss Wael Sawan.