Saudi oil giant Aramco posts record profit in 2022
Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s biggest state oil producer, announced its highest annual profit for 2022 on Sunday, totaling $161.1 billion (€151.2 billion).
The high margin – up about 46% from 2021 – highlights a spike in oil prices after Russia invaded Ukraine.
What’s behind the latest numbers?
The company, formally known as Saudi Arabian Oil Co. said earnings were the strongest since Aramco became a listed company in 2019.
The 2022 figure is nearly double the $88.2 billion Aramco raised in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.
Aramco’s net profit for 2022 is consistent with the record profits reported by the world’s other major oil companies – Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and TotalEnergies.
What drove the increase in profit?
Oil prices soared on rising energy prices after Russia launched its war against Ukraine in February 2022, when sanctions against Moscow limited the sale of Russian oil and natural gas to western markets.
Aramco’s profits would be closer to $200 billion if not for costly withdrawals from Russia.
Aramco – the world’s second most valuable company after Apple – announced the figures in a filing on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange.
The Saudi company said rising profits were “predominantly due to the impact of higher oil prices and volumes sold and stronger refining margins”.
Source: DW
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