Shell Counts The Cost Of Oil

LONDON – The booming price of oil gave a healthy sheen to Royal Dutch Shell’s earnings on Thursday, but crippling costs and disappointing margins lay beneath the surface.

The Anglo-Dutch oil and gas stalwart posted a 60.4% increase in fourth-quarter profits Thursday, to $8.5 billion, from $5.3 billion, but most of the gain came from the jump in crude prices this year. Excluding price fluctuations and a $963 million gain from asset sales, net profit for the quarter came in at a more modest $5.7 billion.


Royal Dutch Shell’s ‘B’ shares remained unchanged at