Shell profit up as high oil prices offset Russia hit

LONDON

British energy giant Shell yesterday said its net profit jumped 26 percent in the first quarter as soaring oil prices offset a sizeable charge linked to its Russia exit.

Profit after tax leapt to $7.1 billion (6.7 billion euros) compared with a year earlier, Shell said in a statement.

While the group took a $3.9-billion charge on its exit from Russia after Moscow invaded Ukraine, it saw lower costs elsewhere.

Revenue rallied 51 percent to $84.2 billion in the first three months of the year, it said.

Oil prices have surged in recent months on concerns over tight supplies following the invasion of Ukraine by major oil and gas producer Russia.

“The war in Ukraine is first and foremost a human tragedy, but it has also caused significant disruption to global energy markets and has shown that secure, reliable and affordable energy simply cannot be taken for granted,” said chief executive Ben van Beurden.

Shell announced in late February that it would sell its stakes in all joint ventures with Russian state energy giant Gazprom after the Kremlin launched its assault on Ukraine.

The company then decided in March to withdraw from Russian gas and oil in line with U.K. government policy.

Shell’s British rival BP this week booked its biggest-ever quarterly loss, at $20.4 billion.