Customers refuel vehicles at a Saudi Aramco gas station in Santiago, Chile, on March 27.
Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Saudi Aramco has reported a 26 percent jump in first-quarter profit thanks to higher oil prices, a positive sign for Saudi Arabia’s finances as the country grapples with damage to energy infrastructure and a knock to oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
In an earnings statement Sunday, Aramco said it had “sharply ramped up” flows through the East-West pipeline – which bypasses the Strait of Hormuz – to reach its maximum capacity of 7 million barrels of oil per day, supporting exports via the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
The world’s biggest oil company reported income of $33.6 billion for the first three months of the year, up more than a quarter from $26.6 billion a year ago. Revenue jumped nearly 7 percent to $115.5 billion.
The pipeline had proved itself “a critical supply artery, helping to mitigate the impact of a global energy shock and providing relief to customers affected by shipping constraints in the Strait of Hormuz,” CEO Amin Nasser said.
According to Aramco, the world has lost more than 1 billion barrels of oil since the Iran war started 10 weeks ago. However, the company has so far managed to increase production this year thanks to alternative export routes and its domestic and international oil storage capacity.
Saudi Arabia’s government, Aramco’s majority shareholder, relies heavily on revenue from the company to fund domestic spending. Aramco’s solid earnings bode well for the outlook for Saudi Arabia’s economy, which contracted in the first quarter for the first time since late 2023.
Last month, the International Monetary Fund cut its 2026 growth forecast for Saudi Arabia by 1.4 percentage points to 3.1 percent.
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https://www.egyptindependent.com/saudis-arabias-oil-giant-gets-boost-from-higher-crude-prices/
