Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has announced a 71 per cent jump in third-quarter earnings.

The firm made a mammoth £6.6 billion between July and September - a period when oil prices hit a peak above $147 a barrel.

The news, which is likely to spark fresh calls for a windfall tax, comes two days after rival BP posted its biggest-ever quarterly profits of £6.4 billion.

Royal Dutch Shell posted the huge profits - a quarterly record - despite a 1 per cent fall in production compared to last year.

This was due to factors such as the impact of hurricane damage in the Gulf of Mexico, which hit refining availability, as well as maintenance work in the North Sea.

Oil prices have since fallen back to less than half their mid-July peak to trade at around $70 a barrel, as global demand fears mount.

Chief executive Jeroen van der Veer - who called the results "satisfactory" - said the company was "robust across a wide range of oil prices".

He said: "We are watching the world economic situation closely."

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