Shell has experienced problems in its Nigeria operations
Royal Dutch Shell has seen its second quarter earnings fall to $4.6bn (£3bn) compared with $5.7bn in the same period a year ago.
It said it had been hit by oil theft and gas supply disruptions in Nigeria.
"Higher costs, exploration charges, adverse currency exchange rate effects and challenges in Nigeria have hit our bottom line," said boss Peter Voser.
"These results were undermined by a number of factors - but they were clearly disappointing for Shell."
The firm also said its earnings had been hit by higher operating expenses and depreciation, and increased exploration well write-offs.
Earlier this year, the Anglo-Dutch company pledged to push ahead with plans to deliver more oil and gas, despite an uncertain outlook for some parts of the world economy.
The firm is planning to increase its output to four million barrels of oil and gas equivalent by 2017-18, up from current levels of about 3.3 million.
"In the next 18 months we expect to see five major project start-ups, which should add over $4bn to our 2015 cash flow," said Mr Voser, commenting on the quarterly results.
Source: BBC News - Business http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23527894#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
