Though second quarter performance was better for Royal Dutch Shell, its top director said Thursday he wanted even better results going forward.

"I am determined to get a tighter grip on business performance management in the company, and improve the balance between growth and returns," Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said in a statement.

Shell said second quarter 2014 earnings were $5.1 billion, compared with $2.4 billion for the same period last year.

Van Buerden said he wanted to see stronger momentum for the company moving forward despite robust performance in the second quarter. In particular, competitive results are needed in the oil reserve plays spread out over much of North America.

Improvement will take time, but progress is already evident, he said.

The company said net capital investments for second quarter 2014 were $1.1 billion, compared with $10.9 billion for second quarter 2013.

"We are making progress with the priorities I set out at the start of 2014: to balance growth and returns by focusing on better financial performance, enhanced capital efficiency, and continued strong project delivery," van Buerden said.

Oil and gas production for the quarter totaled 3 million barrels of oil equivalent, relatively unchanged from one year ago.