The Aporia · Shell profits double to $10.8bn as Iran war pushes up profit margin on oil

Shell reported a profit of $10.8 billion for the July-September quarter, doubling from $5.432 billion in the same period last year, driven by higher oil and gas prices due to Middle East conflicts. The company also increased its share buyback program to return $5 billion to investors over the next three months. Climate campaigners criticized the profit surge, with Greenpeace calling it profiteering on global suffering caused by fossil fuel-related disasters.

Written by AI on 2026-10-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

Story summary

On October 29, 2026, Shell plc announced its third-quarter results for the year, reporting an adjusted profit of $10.8 billion, doubling from the previous quarter's profit of $5.432 billion. The sharp increase was driven by volatile and elevated commodity prices due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which significantly boosted refining margins to record levels. Despite disruptions caused by outages in the Middle East, Shell generated cash flow from operating activities (CFFO) of $21.0 billion. CEO Wael Sawan highlighted the company's strong operational performance and strategic investments, including acquisitions like ARC Resources, which further strengthened Shell’s portfolio. In response to the profits, Shell announced a new share buyback program worth $5 billion for the next quarter. Environmental activists criticized the move, emphasizing that while communities suffer from climate impacts, oil companies are benefiting financially from these crises.

Written for “Shell Plc Publishes Third Quarter Results” on 2026-10-29, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

📰 Shell Plc Publishes Third Quarter Results

Economy/Business · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

SHELL PLC 3rd QUARTER 2026 AND NINE MONTHS UNAUDITED RESULTS Same event

Toronto Star

Hedges 24 of 341 claims Outlet record 64/100

Shell plc publishes third quarter 2026 press release Same event

Toronto Star

Hedges 11 of 57 claims Outlet record 64/100

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent

10 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

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2026-10-19 · assertive framing · ‘Concerning issues’ found at GB power grid by inquiry into cover-up claims

🔮 They add to the growing costs of balancing the grid, which reached a total of £505m in September alone, the highest monthly cost recorded, and are expected to reach £3.2bn over the next year.

2026-10-15 · assertive framing · Cost of balancing Great Britain’s power grid reaches nearly £50m a day

🔮 Days after Donald Trump announced a deal to import Russian diesel into the US in an effort to lower soaring pump prices, the world’s energy watchdog has warned that the global fuel shortage will drag into 2027.

2026-10-14 · assertive framing · ‘From liabilities to goldmines’: refineries eye record profits from diesel shortage

🔮 Drivers will be able to see live petrol prices on Google Maps for the first time from Thursday, in a move that will help motorists shop around for the cheapest fuel.

2026-10-08 · assertive framing · UK motorists can now see live fuel prices on Google Maps

🔮 Shell’s refineries are expected to make almost double the profit from every barrel of fuel produced owing to record prices caused by shortages around the world.

2026-10-07 · assertive framing · Shell expects refineries to almost double the profit from every barrel of fuel made

🔮 “It will take decades to wean off from that dependency,” Rossi said in an interview with the BBC.

2026-09-30 · assertive framing · New UK gas and oil projects are a ‘no-brainer’, says EDF boss

🔮 Household energy bills in Great Britain are predicted to soar by £276 a year for the typical household from January as the impact of the Middle East war continues through the coldest months of winter.

2026-09-30 · assertive framing · Energy bills in Great Britain forecast to jump by £276 a year from January

🔮 With elections due next year in eight EU countries including France, Italy, Spain and Poland, leaders are scrambling to head off the potential fallout from what analysts have warned could be one of the continent’s biggest energy shocks in decades.

2026-09-18 · assertive framing · Record fuel prices across EU prompt calls for bloc-wide windfall tax on firms

🔮 BP will partner with two oil firms with close links to the Trump administration to develop the second phase of the Loran gasfield, in one of the first large-scale foreign investments in Venezuela since the US ousted its leader Nicolás Maduro in January.

2026-08-18 · assertive framing · BP to develop offshore gasfield in Venezuela with firms linked to Trump administration

Also by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent

‘Concerning issues’ found at GB power grid by inquiry into cover-up claims

2026-10-19 · The Guardian

Cost of balancing Great Britain’s power grid reaches nearly £50m a day

2026-10-15 · The Guardian

‘From liabilities to goldmines’: refineries eye record profits from diesel shortage

2026-10-14 · The Guardian

UK motorists can now see live fuel prices on Google Maps

2026-10-08 · The Guardian

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 10 articles by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent →

Shell has doubled its profits in the last quarter after the Middle East conflict drove up the price of oil and gas and created shortages in the global market. asserted

conflict → double → market

Shell reported on Thursday morning that it made an adjusted profit of $10.8bn (£8.1bn) in the July-September quarter, up from $5.432bn in the third quarter of 2025. asserted

it → report → 2025

The results beat analyst expectations for a rise to $10.33bn. asserted

results → beat → 10.33bn

The company also raised its share buyback programme – it plans to return $5bn to investors for the next three months, up from $3bn in the last quarter. asserted

it → raise → quarter

“Shell’s relentless focus on operational performance enabled very strong results in a quarter with continued severe disruption to the global energy system,” the Shell chief executive, Wael Sawan, said. asserted

executive → enable → system

Climate campaigners criticised the jump in profits, which pushed Shell’s shares up by 3% in early trading on Thursday morning. asserted

which → criticise → morning

“As fossil-fuelled storms, floods, and soaring costs wreck communities, oil executives like Shell’s Wael Sawan are popping champagne on the deck of a sinking planet. asserted

executives → fuel → planet

We are paying with our lives and paychecks while they cash in on our misery,” said Philip Evans, a senior campaigner at Greenpeace. asserted

Evans → pay → Greenpeace

Shell’s profits were also higher than in the second quarter of this year, when it made $9.836bn. asserted

it → make → 9.836bn

Shell told investors earlier this month that it expected the profit margins at its refineries to climb to $42 for each barrel of fuel produced in the July to September period, far above the margins of $24 a barrel in the second quarter of this year. asserted

margins → tell → year

These margins are also significantly higher than the previous record for petroleum products of about $28 a barrel, set in the early months of the Russia-Ukraine war, due to shortages in the global market caused by severe damage to refineries in the Middle East and Russia. asserted

margins → set → East

Shell’s gas production has been hard hit by the Middle East crisis, which led to severe damage to one of its key gas processing facilities in the Gulf. asserted

which → hit → Gulf

The company’s prewar gas production of 900,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day fell by a third as the Middle East war unfolded. asserted

war → fall → third

Europe’s benchmark gas price index reached an average of almost €64 per megawatt-hour in the third quarter, up from more than €48 a megawatt-hour in the second quarter. asserted

index → reach → quarter

Meanwhile, the global oil price benchmark averaged $94.90 a barrel, up from $69.10 a barrel in the same quarter last year. asserted

benchmark → average → quarter

The steadily rising commodity prices helped lift the market value of Europe’s biggest oil and gas company, now the largest company on the UK’s FTSE 100 index. asserted

prices → rise → index

Shell’s share price rose to a record high of more than £40 a share earlier this month as the global oil price climbed towards $117 a barrel, the highest price in six months. asserted

price → rise → months

Shell profits double to $10.8bn as Iran war pushes up profit margin on oil

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