Shell shares slide after profit warning

May, North Sea oil and gas drillers have been hit by a windfall tax the UK government, which has increased its tax rate from 40% to 65% potentially by 2025 to help fund relief for households facing rising energy bills.

Liz Truss, Prime Minister, said opposes further windfall taxesbut he is under pressure to do so after announcing help with energy bills for households and businesses expected to cost £60bn over the next six months.

Shell’s natural gas trading division’s third-quarter results are also expected to be weaker than the previous quarter due to volatile markets.

Despite this, Shell is still expected to report a profit of $10.5bn (£9bn) in the third quarter, according to analysts’ forecasts.

That compares with a profit of $11.5 billion in the second quarter, amid rising oil and gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking in London this week, Shell boss Ben van Beurden signaled support for windfall taxes, while opposing any cap on gas prices being discussed in Europe.

He said: “Government intervention is needed one way or another.

“Protecting the poorest, that probably then can mean that governments have to tax the people in this room to pay for it.”

In a trading update on Thursday ahead of third-quarter results on Oct. 27, Shell said indicative refining margins fell to $15 a barrel from $28 a barrel in the previous three months.

Meanwhile, indicative margins for chemicals fell to negative $27 a tonne, compared with positive $86 in the second quarter, after demand for plastics fell.

Mr Van Beurden is preparing to step down next year after nearly a decade at the helm, handing over to Wael Sawan, Shell’s head of gas and renewables.