Oil giants revel in massive profits amid gas price crisis
OIL giants such as Shell and BP are set to reveal massive profits after global gas prices soared.
Shell will forecast post-quarterly revenue of £1.5bn for its natural gas division, when it reports on Thursday.
Gas prices have climbed globally following a worldwide shortage in supplies.
The cost of gas has risen for suppliers by 250 per cent since the start of the year.
Asian liquified natural gas (LNG) has reported prices four times higher than the third quarter of 2020.
The sharply increasing wholesale costs has resulted in an energy crisis in the UK, with 13 energy firms ceasing trading since the start of September.
While consumers are currently protected by Ofgem’s £1,277 annual price cap, this is expected to increase at the next review in April 2022.
Oil prices have also climbed, with Brent rising more than 60 per cent since the start of the year, reaching a nine year high of $86.10 a barrel last week,
Shell’s shares have rocketed 35 per cent during the same period to £17.49 while BP’s have increased 40 per cent to 356p.
BP will announce its third quarter results in November.
The sector is now under increasing pressure to invest more in renewables, with governments set to meet in Glasgow for the COP26 climate conference later this week.
BP is committing to 2050 as its net zero carbon emissions target, and has also announced plans to increase low carbon investments tenfold by the end of the decade.
Shell is aiming for carbon footprint cuts of 20 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2050 for all its products.