Royal Dutch Shell has reported a surge in annual profits to £8.5bn – a leap of 242% on the previous year.
The Anglo-Dutch oil major credited the performance on a recovery in oil and gas prices during a “year of transformation” within the business.
The company said: “Full-year earnings benefited mainly from higher realised oil, gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices, improved refining performance and higher production from new fields, which offset the impact of field declines and divestments.”
Shell – like its rivals – suffered during a period of weakness for energy prices that saw Brent crude stutter below $30 a barrel in early 2016.
Prices have slowly recovered ground since then – hitting a three-year high of $70 recently as output cuts by the Opec group of oil-producing nations and Russia, aimed at curbing a supply glut, injected some heat back into the market.
The recovery has also been aided by greater confidence in the world economy.
Shell trimmed upstream operations, offloaded non-core businesses and snapped up gas-focused BG Group in 2016 for £47bn as it moved to shield itself from the weak price environment.
Its chief executive, Ben van Beurden, said those actions had paid off.
He said: “2017 was a year of strong financial performance for Shell. A year of transformation, in which we showed we have what it takes to deliver a world-class investment case.
“We enter 2018 with continued discipline and confidence, committed to the delivery of strong returns and cash.”
Shares fell 2% when the FTSE 100 opened for business on Thursday before clawing back most of those declines.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
