Aramco has announced a record profit of $161,1 billion (£134 billion) for 2022, aided by rising energy prices and increased production.
It reflects a 46.5% increase compared to the previous year for the state-owned corporation.
It is the most recent energy company to announce record profits following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when energy prices skyrocketed.
ExxonMobil earned $55.7 billion, while Shell reported $39.9 billion.
Aramco also declared a $19.5 billion dividend for the October to December quarter of 2022, to be paid in the first quarter of this year.
The majority of this payout will go to the Saudi Arabian government, which controls roughly 95% of the company’s shares.
Brent crude oil, the benchmark oil price, is currently about $82 per barrel, but prices hit $120 per barrel in March and June, following Russia’s invasion.
Robert Mogielnicky of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington stated, “In 2022, Aramco rode the tide of high energy prices.” It would have been challenging for Aramco to not do well in 2022.
The White House describes Exxon’s record profit as “outrageous.”
Shell claims the best profits in its 115-year history.
Aramco stated in a statement released on Sunday that the company’s results were “supported by higher crude oil prices, increased sales volumes, and enhanced margins for refined goods.”
Amin Nasser, president and chief executive officer of Aramco, stated, “With our expectation that oil and gas will continue to be crucial for the foreseeable future, the consequences of underinvestment in our business are serious – including contributing to rising energy costs.”
To meet these problems, he said, the business would invest in new low-carbon technologies in addition to boosting oil, gas, and chemical output.
Aramco, the second-most valuable business in the world behind Apple, is a major contributor to climate change through the release of greenhouse gases.
Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard responded to Aramco’s revelation by stating, “It is alarming for a firm to earn more than $161 billion in a single year through the selling of fossil fuel – the single largest contributor to the climate disaster.”
She continued, “That is all the more surprising because this surplus was accumulated during a worldwide cost-of-living crisis and was aided by the rise in energy costs caused by Russia’s aggressive campaign against Ukraine.”
Opec’s leading oil producer is Saudi Arabia (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries).
Nonetheless, the Gulf country has been accused for a variety of human rights violations, including its involvement in the conflict in neighboring Yemen, the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, and the widespread use of the death penalty.
Separately, Iran announced on Sunday that its oil shipments had hit their greatest level since the reinstatement of US sanctions in 2018.
Oil Minister Javad Owji stated that shipments rose by 83 million barrels in 2022 compared to the preceding twelve months. Iran’s new year begins in March.
Experts attribute the increase to increased exports to Iran’s allies China and Venezuela.
Five years ago, when then-US President Donald Trump withdrew from a historic nuclear agreement, Tehran’s export profits took a huge knock.
The American sanctions, coupled with economic incompetence and corruption, have prevented substantial progress in the Iranian economy during the past decade. And according to certain measurements, it is still 4-8% smaller than in 2010.
