TotalEnergies, Shell Post Bumper Profits, LNG Business Diverges
LONDON/PARIS—Europe’s two largest energy companies Shell and TotalEnergies reported profits of more than $9 billion in the third quarter, though Shell’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) division struggled to capture the benefits of high fuel prices.
The strong earnings were likely to intensify calls in Britain and the European Union for further windfall taxes on energy companies to help households cope with gas and power bills.
LNG prices have soared this year as Moscow progressively cut piped natural gas supplies to Europe, which heavily depended on Russian imports.
Western sanctions on Russia, which is among the world’s leading oil and gas producers, in response to its invasion of Ukraine in February, helped to drive European gas prices to an all-time high in August….