Shell has taken a $8.2 billion hit to halt drilling in Alaska and Canada - the equivalent of 5 per cent of its market value.

The FTSE 100 oil giant today reported a $7.42 billion (£4.9 billion) loss in the third quarter, down from a $4.46 billion profit a year earlier, as the prolonged reduction in the oil price triggered its biggest loss in more than a decade.

Shell boss Ben van Beurden pledged to respond to the collapse in prices by making his company “more focused and competitive”.

Oil traded at an average of $51.30 a barrel during the quarter, just half of the level a year earlier and compared to $115 last summer.

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