RIYADH: Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, on Tuesday reported a first-quarter net profit of $31.9 billion, a 19.25 per cent decline from the same period in 2017.
President and CEO of Aramco, Amin H Nasser said, “We are moving ahead with our capacity expansion, and our long-term outlook remains unchanged.”
The figure was lower than the $39.5 billion reported during the same period in 2022 when oil prices spiked due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The five largest oil companies—BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Total Energies — reported first-quarter profits of $40.5 billion, more than three-quarters of that amount. BP and Shell are from Britain, while Total Energies is from France.
Nasser said, “The results show Aramco’s continuous high reliability, focus on cost and our ability to respond to market conditions as we produce solid cash flows and further fortify the balance sheet.”
Aramco is the crown jewel of the Saudi economy, the primary funding source for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious Vision 2030 economic and social change project.
In 2017, the company announced record revenues of $161.1 billion, which enabled the kingdom to post its first annual budget surplus in almost a decade.
