Shell reported an adjusted earnings of $9.8 billion in Q2 2026 as the ongoing war in the Middle East and the resultant oil price volatility helped the British energy major maximize profits globally.
The earnings exceeded analysts’ consensus forecast of $8.9 billion and more than doubled the $4.3 billion recorded in the same period last year with the result just coming short of the $11.5 billion quarterly profit Shell posted in 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered an unprecedented energy crisis across Europe.
Shell said the changes in oil and natural gas prices created favorable conditions for its trading operations, allowing traders to capitalize on wider price spreads, arbitrage opportunities and increased customer demand for hedging contracts from industries such as aviation and utilities.
“We are moving to integrate trading into every single part of our organisation at the moment,” Shell Chief Executive Wael Sawan said.
“In my mind, volatility is just a part of the energy system going forward. Others are trying to build trading organisations but we have been on that journey for decades,” he added.
Despite the strong earnings, Shell’s upstream operations faced significant disruptions. The company reported a 31% quarter-on-quarter decline in gas production, largely due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which affected operations at its Pearl gas-to-liquids facility in Qatar.
Shell however said its seven refineries operated at 102% utilisation, exceeding their nominal capacity to meet robust demand for products including diesel and aviation fuel.
