Shell accelerates pace of share buybacks as profit rises

The oil and gas giant said it would repurchase €3.3bn of shares over the next three months, an increase from €2.83bn in the prior period

The company had already highlighted its strong performance in natural gas trading in the third quarter, which offset lower production.

Shell Plc accelerated the pace of share buybacks as third-quarter profit rose on a combination of higher energy prices, strong gas trading and wider refining margins.

The company’s performance, which matched analyst expectations, caps a mixed earnings season for Big Oil. The US majors fell short of estimates, taking some of the shine off recent takeover deals, while their European peers mostly did better than expected.