Shell profits soar to £2.47bn

SHELL has joined the list of oil giants posting bumper profits on the back of soaring crude prices - and said that, despite making £312.50 a second over the first quarter, it was setting its sights on more.

Following record results from BP and a tripling in earnings at ExxonMobil, Shell reported record quarterly profits of $3.91bn (£2.47bn) for the three months - 96% up on last year - after the Iraqi war sent oil prices higher.

The Anglo-Dutch group, which bought North Sea exploration and production business Enterprise Oil last year, also cashed in on a surge in US natural gas prices and improved margins in its refinery business.

Pre-empting criticism from environmental campaigners who slammed oil firms in the build-up to Thursday's May Day protests, Shell said it was proud of its performance. A spokesman said: 'We don't think these figures are embarrassing. We are pleased with these results, it is a strong set of numbers and we think it benefits the UK to have a strong international company. It would be wrong to speculate on the future, but if you look at the underlying performance it is very strong. We also believe we have plans in place to make further improvements.'

Shell pumped out 4.2m barrels of oil and gas equivalent over the quarter, a 6% jump, despite civil unrest in Nigeria that restricted capacity at its rigs in the Niger Delta.

Rival BP posted profits of £2.35bn on Tuesday. ExxonMobil, the world's largest privately-owned oil group, revealed what are understood to be the largest quarterly corporate profits in history - $7.04bn.