Saudi Aramco brings in record $39.5bn income as oil prices surge
Saudi Aramco generated $39.5bn (£32.3bn) in income in the first quarter of 2022, after volatile commodity prices saw its income increase by 82 per cent compared to the same time last year.
The almost $40bn worth of income marks a record for Saudi Arabia’s national oil company in coming as its highest quarterly earnings since the firm first floated on the stock market in December 2019.
The oil major’s bumper incomes compared to Shell’s quarterly earnings of $9.13bn and BPs first quarter earnings of $6.2bn.
Aramco said it would continue paying out its $18.76bn dividend, as the world’s largest oil producer said its income had been boosted by buoyant prices caused by low stocks, geopolitical turmoil, and returning demand.
The Saudi firm, which is now the most valuable company in the world, said it achieved an average price of $97.7 per barrel of oil, up from a price of just $60.2 per barrel in Q1 2021.
The results come as crude prices surged from lows of $75 per barrel in January to heights of more than $125 per barrel in March, before dropping back down to current levels of $110 per barrel today.
Oil prices have been bolstered in recent months by returning demand from the pandemic and geopolitical tensions linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The world’s biggest oil exporter said it had produced an average of 13m barrels of oil per day in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 12.3m barrels per day last year.