Profits set to double as crude recovery boosts oil giant Shell

Energy: Firm has benefited from a rise in the price of oil in the past year

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is expected to reveal that profits more than doubled last year as it benefited from the surging cost of crude.

Brent crude has hit $71 a barrel for the first time in more than three years, boosted by supply curbs from oil cartel Opec, a record run of declines in US crude inventories and a weaker US dollar.

This has helped oil majors such as Shell and BP emerge from an extended slump which saw Brent fall as low as $27.26 in January 2016.

Shell reported a 47% jump in adjusted earnings to $4.1 billion in the third quarter, thanks to the oil price rally.

Analysts are expecting more cheer as they predict Thursday’s annual results will show Shell’s adjusted earnings shooting up to $15.7bn from $7.2bn a year earlier.

Fund management experts at Hargreaves Lansdown recently praised Shell’s tactics since the oil price rout in 2014, including an aggressive costcutting drive and a $30bn divestment initiative.

They said: “This has left the group much more strongly cash-generative and reinforced Shell’s dividend-paying capabilities.

“Historically, Shell has an unparalleled track record for paying its dividend through thick and thin having maintained or increased it every year since the end of the Second World War.”

Picture: PA. Brent crude has hit $71 a barrel, having dropped as low as $27 two years ago.