The Daily Herald

LONDON--Royal Dutch Shell Plc said second-quarter current cost of supply (CCS) net income jumped 94 percent to $4.53 billion thanks to a strong operating environment and a speedy restructuring of the oil giant. Excluding one-off gains, the result was $4.21 billion, ahead of an average forecast of $3.99 billion from a Reuters poll of ten analysts. CCS net income strips out non-cash gains or losses related to changes in the value of fuel inventories, and, as such, is comparable to net income under U.S. accounting rules. Europe's largest oil company by market value said production rose 5 percent to average 3.11 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the quarter, ahead of an average forecast of a rise of 2.5 percent. The price Shell received for its oil rose 41 percent in the quarter, compared with the second quarter of 2009, while gas prices were 15 percent. Refining margins and retail fuel sales also rose.