Shell profit soars on high oil price

London: Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday that second-quarter net profits quadrupled, energised by high oil prices and asset sales, adding that it has launched a vast $25-billion shares buyback. Earnings after taxation surged to $6.0 billion in the three months to June compared with $1.5 billion a year earlier, Shell said in a results statement. The company off-loaded $2.5-billion of assets in the reporting period, with disposals in Canada, India, Malaysia, Norway and Thailand. The London-listed energy major will now seek to buy back at least $25 billion of shares from investors over 2018-2020, subject to debt reduction and the oil price environment. — AFP