Energy giant Shell has announced record annual profits nearing $40bn, after oil and gas prices surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February.

The British company’s earnings in 2022 were the highest in its 115-year history, a milestone that has angered many Britons struggling with a cost-of-living crisis largely driven by inflated energy bills.

The results demonstrate Shell’s “capacity to deliver vital energy to our customers in a volatile world”, new CEO Wael Sawan said in a statement.

But critics say the UK’s Conservative Party government needs to tighten its windfall tax regime on energy firms’ earnings in the wake of Shell’s bumper profits announcement.

“As the British people face an energy price hike of 40 percent in April, [Prime Minister] Rishi Sunak is letting the fossil fuel companies making bumper profits off the hook with his refusal to do a proper windfall tax,” Ed Miliband, the opposition Labour Party’s shadow climate and net zero secretary, said in a Twitter post.

The scheme also offers businesses major savings if they invest in UK fossil fuel extraction – for every 1 pound ($1.23) they spend on this, they can claim 91 pence ($1.12) back in tax relief.