AMSTERDAM (AP) — Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe’s largest oil company, says second quarter earnings rose on higher production and higher selling prices for oil, and fewer one-time charges.
Net profit was $5.31 billion, up from $1.74 billion in the same period a year earlier. Shell booked net one-time charges of $979 million in the quarter, down from $2.21 billion in the second quarter of 2013.
The Anglo-Dutch company produced 3.08 million barrels of oil and equivalents per day, only a fractional increase. But Shell said production of oil, which is more lucrative, was up 3 percent while natural gas production fell 8 percent.
The company said oil production has increased in Iraq and the Gulf of Mexico, offsetting declines at aging fields.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
