Shell set to stir petrol storm with record profits of £13.6bn(David Teather)

 Shell will be at the centre of a political storm this week when it posts profits of almost $27bn (£13.6bn), the highest earnings ever made by a British company.

The record-breaking profits, on the back of soaring oil prices, seem likely to stir fresh allegations of profiteering. The price of petrol has been increasing sharply, rising from 71p a litre five years ago to about 104p a litre today, according to the AA.

Texas-based Exxon Mobil, the world's largest privately-owned oil company, is expected to improve on its own previous record on Friday by reporting earnings of $39.6bn, the biggest annual profits that the US has ever seen.

Kate Gibbs at the Road Haulage Association described Shell's profits as "absolutely scandalous" but reserved her strongest criticism for the chancellor of the exchequer, Alistair Darling, who is planning to add another 2p a litre in fuel duty in April. More than 65% of the cost of unleaded petrol goes to the exchequer in fuel tax and VAT.

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