Daily Mirror: Union fury as Shell makes £45m a day: “…profits "obscene": Friday 28 October 2005

SHELL sparked fury last night by revealing it made £45million A DAY over, the summer.  Union leaders renewed calls for a windfall tax on the sector as the oil giant reported its best-ever quarter.

As motorists fork out £1 for a litre of petrol, Shell has pocketed more cash than ever before.

Profits in the three months to October raced to £4.1billion - nearly 70 per cent more than 12 months ago.

This means Shell has banked £9.9bn since January - more than Estonia generates every year,

"This year has been good to Shell," said boss Jeroen van der Veer.

Branding the profits "obscene", Amicus said Chancellor Gordon Brown had to act unless Shell and its rivals plough "money back into North Sea exploration, staff training and safety. Regional officer Graham Tran said: "Shell must demonstrate it is prepared to make a long-term investment. Failure to do so is likely to force the government's hand."

BP reported third-quarter profits of £2.5bn just three days ago after suffering a £400m bill for hurricane damage in the US. Shell suffered only a £200m loss.

Shell's third-quarter profits were boosted by a £900m windfall from a gas company sale. It insists it made a loss "for significant periods" at the petrol pump.

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