Royal Dutch Shell PLC said second-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year earlier as the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas group benefited from higher production of liquid petroleum and higher prices for certain products. Shell said Thursday that profit for the period came in at $5.15 billion on a current cost-of-supplies basis—a measure similar to profit reported by U.S. oil companies—compared with $2.39 billion in the same period last year. Excluding one-time items, current-cost-of-supplies profit was $6.13 billion, up 33% from $4.60 billion last year. Second-quarter sales were $115.27 billion, up slightly from $114.35 billion a year earlier. “Our financial performance for the second quarter of 2014 was more robust than year-ago levels but I want to see stronger, more competitive results right across […]