Oil Price Surge from War Drives Saudi Aramco’s First-Quarter Net Profit Up 26%

Net profit reaches 120.13 billion Saudi riyals
Concerns emerge over future earnings pressure

Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company, Aramco, saw its net profit surge in the first quarter of this year, driven by factors such as rising oil prices due to the Middle East conflict.

Promotional image of Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company, Aramco. The Asia Business Daily DB

According to major foreign news outlets including AFP on May 10 (local time), Aramco reported that its net profit for the first quarter of this year reached 120.13 billion Saudi riyals (approximately $32.02 billion). This represents an increase of 25.6% compared to 95.68 billion riyals (about $25.5 billion) in the same period last year.

In a disclosure to the Saudi stock exchange, Aramco explained that "the increase in revenue was mainly due to higher crude oil sales volumes and rising crude oil prices, as well as increased sales prices and volumes for refined and chemical products."

The global energy crisis was triggered when Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, causing international oil prices to soar from the mid-$60 per barrel range in early February to over $100 in March. Amidst these circumstances, Aramco has been transporting a portion of its crude oil exports via the East-West Pipeline, which connects the eastern oil fields with the Yanbu port on the western Red Sea coast, effectively bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

Amin Nasser, CEO of Aramco, emphasized, "Aramco's operational flexibility, based on the East-West Pipeline, played a key role in the supply chain and helped mitigate some of the ripple effects of the global energy shock."

However, concerns about future supply disruptions persist, as the East-West Pipeline has already reached its maximum transport capacity of 7 million barrels per day, and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is becoming prolonged.

Market observers point out that only a portion of the impact from the blockade, which intensified in March, has been reflected in this first-quarter performance, suggesting that Aramco's export volumes and earnings may face additional pressure going forward.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.