Global oil and gas conglomerate, Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday, announced that its profit after tax nearly tripled to just under $13bn (10.5 billion euros) in 2017.
The rise, according to the group was deepened by rising oil and gas prices.
Net or bottom-line earnings for the full year compared with a figure of $4.6 billion in 2016, the Anglo-Dutch energy giant revealed in a statement.
Earnings in the fourth quarter leapt 147 percent to $3.8 billion compared with the same part of 2016.
The company noted major recovery in crude oil prices, which tends to ramp up revenues and profits for the entire sector did the towering profit magic.
It would be recalled that crude oil prices leapt by about 15 percent to finish the year at around $60 per barrel, aided by oil cartel OPEC’s efforts to limit its collective production.
Shell in a statement 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”.
The company also noted that its profit adjusted for exceptional items and the changing value of oil and gas inventories surged to $12.1 billion in 2017, from $3.5 billion last time around.
Revenues soared by almost a third to $305 billion.
The company meanwhile boosted its cash flow in the wake of its 2016 purchase of BG Group.
“2017 was a year of strong financial performance for Shell,” added chief executive Ben van Beurden.
“A year of transformation, in which we showed we have what it takes to deliver a world-class investment case.
“Our relentless focus on value, performance and competitiveness meant we were able to deliver $39 billion of cash flow from operations excluding working capital movements from our upgraded portfolio.
“We strengthened our financial framework during the year through an $8 billion reduction in our net debt.”
Shell remains a major oil and gas major in Nigeria and has contributed in the development of the industry for decades.
