Shell reports 'competitive' quarter in UK

Royal Dutch Shell put rival BP in the shade today after revealing a sharp rise in profits for the second quarter of the year.

The Anglo-Dutch oil company unveiled profits of US$7.56bn (€10.36) for the three months to June 30, as strong margins in refining helped Shell offset a weaker performance in exploration and production.

Today’s figure easily beat last year’s second quarter profits haul of 6.31 billion US dollars.

Chief executive Jeroen van der Veer said the company had delivered “another competitive set of results”. The performance is in contrast to BP, which said earlier this week that profits fell slightly because plant stoppages had prevented it from taking advantage of improved profitability in refining.