Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday said that net profit surged 80 percent to $23.4 billion in 2018, thanks to higher oil prices and cost cuts. Profit after tax had come in at almost $13 billion in 2017, Shell said in a statement.

"We delivered on our promises for the year, including the completion of the $30 billion divestment programme and starting up key growth projects while maintaining discipline on capital investment," Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019