Shell posts $6.7 billion net profit in third quarter

British energy giant Shell on Thursday announced net profit totalling $6.7 billion in the third quarter as oil and gas prices remain strong despite the recent slide on easing supply fears.

The result compared with a loss after tax of $447 million in the July-September period last year, Shell said in a statement.

Flush with cash, Shell said it would buy back $4 billion of its shares.

"We are delivering robust results at a time of ongoing volatility in global energy markets," said Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden. 

The latest profit was however far less compared with its second-quarter net income totalling $18 billion.

Shell alerted the market on the comparison earlier this month, blaming the drop on a slump in refining margins.

Although oil and gas prices have surged from a year ago following the invasion of Ukraine by major energy producer Russia, hydrocarbon values are cooling as the northern hemisphere experiences mild temperatures and countries shore up supplies.

Shell last month announced that van Beurden would step down as CEO at the end of the year, as the energy major looks to reinvent itself under group renewables boss Wael Sawan.

Towards the end of his nine years at the helm, van Beurden slashed thousands of jobs after Shell slumped into a huge loss on Covid lockdowns. 

The Shell veteran -- he has spent almost 40 years as a group employee -- departs also having carried out a major corporate overhaul that saw the company ditch "Royal Dutch" from the start of its name.