Both Shell and Chevron saw-off the competition in Q1 with positive results.
Shell reported first Quarter earnings of $7.3bn - based on Current Cost of Supplies (CCS) - a 16% improvement from 2011's Q1 figure of $6.29bn. The positive figures will offer a boost to Shell's shareholders when set against the poor results declared by rivals BP and ExxonMobil.
Shell's downstream activities picked up by 13% at $1.32bn, although these figures include one-off changes from 2011 and one-off gains in 2012 which offset an otherwise poor Quarter. I real terms, downstream would have shown a 32% fall - the result of "a weaker global refining environment" according to the company. Upstream revenues from production and operations lifted to $6.71bn against $5.76bn for the same period last year.
For Chevron, profits were up 4.2% on net income of $6.5bn in Q1 2012 against $6.21bn for the same time in 2011. Like Shell, downstream earnings were enhanced by one-off activities - in this case, the sale of Chevron's UK refining operations in Pembroke, Wales - to deliver $804m, a 29% year-on-year improvement. Although overall revenues were up only one percent, upstream activities saw earnings increase by more than three percent at $6.1bn.