Saudi oil group Aramco on Sunday reported a 46 percent rise in net profit in 2022 compared with 2021, thanks to a rise in oil prices after the war in Ukraine, which boosted the economy of the world’s biggest crude exporter.

Aramco said it posted a record net profit of $161.1 billion in 2022, up 46% from a net result of $110 billion in 2021, AFP and Agerpres reported. By comparison, the Saudi oil giant posted a net profit of $88.2 billion in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic hit markets and caused significant losses for the oil and aviation sectors.

These historical results are due to “increased oil prices and sales volumes, as well as improved refining margins,” Aramco said.

The record profit reported by Aramco follows comparable results announced in February by other major oil producers such as BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Chevron, which posted record profits last year.

Revenues from Aramco, a company largely owned by the Saudi Arabian state, have boosted the Gulf kingdom’s economy, whose gross domestic product is expected to grow by 8.7% in 2022, the fastest pace of economic growth, according to official estimates. among the G20 states.

Even if in the meantime oil prices have fallen below the peaks reached in 2022, they should still remain high this year, thanks in part to the cut in production quotas approved in October by OPEC+, an alliance of the world’s largest companies. oil exporters.

Aramco is the largest oil company in the world with crude oil reserves of approximately 265 billion barrels, or 15% of global oil reserves.