Ben van Beurden

Shell net profit surged to a record $42.3 billion last year, the British energy giant said yesterday, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent oil and gas prices soaring.

Europe faces painful "industrial rationalisation" due to its energy crisis that risks political trouble, the head of Shell warned Sunday, as the oil giant joined a natural gas project in Qatar.

British energy giant Shell yesterday said its net profit jumped 26 percent in the first quarter as soaring oil prices offset a sizeable charge linked to its Russia exit.

Profit after tax leapt to $7.1 billion (6.7 billion euros) compared with a year earlier, Shell said in a statement.

Royal Dutch Shell on Feb. 4 announced an 87-percent plunge in annual net profits on slumping oil prices.

Royal Dutch Shell has recently held talks in Iran to discuss business cooperation with the oil and gas-rich country, in preparation for the possible removal of international sanctions on Tehran.