Shell Reported Record Annual Profit

Royal Dutch Shell has reported record annual profit due to soaring oil prices in 2005.

The Anglo-Dutch energy giant generated profits of $22.94bn - up nearly a third on last year when it set a UK record with profits of $17.59bn.

The results follow a year in which the cost of crude jumped from below $45 a barrel to break the $70 mark.

Most of Shell's profits come from finding and extracting oil, and then selling it on to the markets.

Little, if any, profit comes from forecourt sales of fuel - which in the UK attracts among the highest taxes in Europe.

That has not stopped road lobbyists calling for Shell to reduce prices.
The cost of crude oil rose sharply last summer as a number of factors combined to push up the price.