By Bob Davies: 1 November 2013
Shell vowed to press on with its controversial Arctic drilling plans, despite a warning that charges linked to the project would weigh on its already weak profits.
Pre-tax earnings slipped by 31 per cent to £2.65billion in the third quarter, amid rock bottom refining margins and a fresh charge on its troubled Nigerian operation.
Finance director Simon Henry warned the firm was also likely to take a £125million charge in the fourth quarter on its stalled quest to find oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas off Alaska. Shell’s Kulluk drilling rig ran aground in stormy seas on New Year’s Eve, putting its Arctic plans on ice indefinitely.