Shell Posts $9.84 Billion Q2 2026 Net Profit, Second Highest on Record, as Energy Prices and Trading Surge

British energy giant Shell reported a second-quarter net profit of $9.84 billion, more than double the year-earlier level and the second highest in company history. The sharp profit increase was driven by higher crude oil and natural gas prices, stronger trading performance in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil, and improved chemical margins.

During the second quarter, Brent crude oil averaged approximately $97 per barrel, while the European benchmark natural gas price averaged about €46 per megawatt-hour, both significantly higher than the same period in 2025.

Shell's second-quarter profit was second only to the second quarter of 2022, when the Russia-Ukraine conflict caused severe turbulence in global energy markets. Operating cash flow, including changes in working capital, also reached its highest level since 2022. The company maintains its share buyback plan and will continue to execute $3 billion in repurchases over the next three months.

Shell's integrated gas business profit reached $2.7 billion, up 55% year on year, despite a 31% sequential decline in gas production for the quarter. Profit from the chemicals and products business surged to $2.9 billion from $118 million in the same period in 2025.

Shell said maintenance activity at upstream assets and refinery facilities will increase in the third quarter. The Pearl gas-to-liquids project in Qatar has been shut down since March after an attack damaged one production line at the facility. During the suspension, Shell will rely on output from Canada, Nigeria, and Australia to compensate for the lost capacity. The Middle East accounts for about 20% of Shell's total oil and gas production, roughly 550,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, of which approximately 10% is related to Qatar.