Shell's half-year earnings soar amid war volatilityShell has revealed a better-than-expected 70 per cent surge in first-half earnings despite “severe disruption” in oil and gas markets amid the Iran war. The FTSE 100 giant saw underlying earnings jump to £12.55 billion after notching up a forecast-beating haul of £7.37 billion in the three months to the end of June. The group said underlying earnings at its chemicals and products unit – including its oil trading business – jumped to £2.15 billion, up significantly from £141 million a year ago. But Shell’s Pearl GTL site in Qatar stopped production in March after being hit during attacks, while LNG facilities in the country partly owned by Shell were also affected. Find out how Bdaily can help →Join more than 55,000 subscribers by signing up to our daily bulletin each morning here.