The FTSE 100 oil giant reported a better-than-expected underlying earnings haul of 10.81 billion US dollars (£8.12 billion) for the three months to September 30, up from 5.43 billion dollars (£4.08 billion) a year earlier.
It unveiled plans to further boost returns for shareholders after the profit jump, with another five billion US dollars (£3.75 billion) in share buybacks before the year-end.
Campaigners criticised the profit haul, which comes at a time when households and motorists are suffering painful rises in fuel costs and knock-on inflation caused by the conflict.
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Shell said adjusted earnings at its chemicals and products unit – including its oil trading business – soared even higher, reaching 3.86 billion dollars (£2.9 billion) in the third quarter, against just 550 million dollars (£412.9 million) a year ago.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has seen oil prices soar past 100 dollars a barrel, with no sign of an end to the war or the reopening of the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping route.
The figures prompted criticism from fuel poverty campaigners, who accused the company of profiting while households struggle with rising energy bills.
Campaigners have said we need to ‘put renewable energy first’ (Image: PA)
Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “There is no version of these figures which look even remotely fair.
“Shell earns more in sixty seconds than most people in this country manage in twelve months.
“Meanwhile, for households, energy bills continue to rise driven by the surging cost of gas and politicians seem unable or unwilling to provide sufficient emergency support that will keep people warm this winter.
“Getting Britain off gas is the only way to end this and every year of delay means higher bills for the households least able to pay them.”
His concerns were echoed by Tessa Khan, executive director of climate campaign group Uplift, who described Shell’s profits as a “kick in the teeth” for households facing further increases in energy costs.
She said: “Shell’s bumper billions today are a kick in the teeth to UK billpayers.
“Energy bills are set to rise again this January, driven by soaring oil and gas prices, which means millions of people in this country will worry about how to stay warm, while Shell will cash in.”
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Khan also criticised the company’s support for further oil and gas developments in the North Sea, arguing that approving the Rosebank field would do nothing to reduce household bills.
She added: “Of course Shell and its partner Equinor, want Burnham’s government to approve Rosebank after Jackdaw – but this won’t take a penny off our bills, it will simply line the pockets of these already obscenely wealthy companies.
“If Labour is serious about tackling the cost-of-living crisis, it must help households get off volatile oil and gas prices by switching to homegrown renewables. Burnham must put affordable energy and a safe climate before Shell’s profits and reject Rosebank.”
Responding to the company’s financial performance, Shell chief executive Wael Sawan said: “ “Shell’s relentless focus on operational performance enabled very strong results in a quarter with continued severe disruption to the global energy system.”