Anglo-Dutch Shell's third-quarter net profit fell sharply year-on-year

London, October 29 (Xinhua) Europe's largest oil company, Anglo-Dutch Shell, reported 29th, the third quarter net profit of 2.99 billion U.S. dollars, a sharp decline of 73%. In the third quarter of this year, Shell oil production amounted to 2.926 million barrels of Nissan crude, flat from the same period last year, according to earnings reports. Among them, crude oil production was 1.648 million barrels, down 2% year-on-year.　　In the third quarter of this year, refiners fell 8% per cent year-on-year, with refineries operating at 94% per cent up 6%. "Our third-quarter performance was affected by the global economic slowdown," Shell chief executive Peter Wather said in a statement on the same day. While we are seeing some signs of an improvement in energy demand and oil prices, the outlook remains very uncertain and we cannot expect a rapid economic recovery. "The sharp fall in oil and gas prices has led to a significant drop in shell profits, and Shell has had to cut costs by laying off workers." This year, Shell will make up about 5,000 employees, accounting for about 5% of the total number of employees. In addition, Shell has substantially streamlined management.　　Shell's operating costs were reduced by 1 billion dollars in the first 9 months of this year. Shell plans to increase oil and gas production by 2% to 3% a year over the next 3 years.