Royal Dutch Shell and BP, Europe's two biggest oil companies, Tuesday reported massive increases in profits during the first three months of this year, reaching a combined Pnds 7.2 billion (Dlrs 14.4 bn).The increases by the United Kingdom 's top oil companies were higher than expected and are expected to reignite calls for a windfall tax on their excessive profits.
BP's pre-tax profits rose 48 per cent in the first quarter to Pnds 3.3 bn, while Shell increased its profits 12 per cent to a record Pnds 3.9 bn. The results come on the back of the soaring price of oil and petrol prices rising at their highest rate in three year, with unleaded petrol reaching a record average of almost Pnds 1.10 per litre. BP reported that its operations in the North Sea saw a large increase in profitability in the first quarter because of the high price of oil and despite declining United Kingdom production.
Shell's chief executive Jeroen van der Veer, said that good operating performance, combined with increased oil and gas prices, "offset the impact of downstream conditions in the first quarter."
Source: Islamic Republic News Agency
No comments:
Post a Comment