Oil giant Saudi Aramco on Sunday announced record profits of $48.4 billion for the second quarter of 2022 after Russia’s war in Ukraine and a surge in demand in the wake of the pandemic pushed crude prices higher.
Net income rose 90 percent year over year for the world’s largest oil producer, which set its second straight quarterly record after announcing $39.5 billion for the first quarter.
“As global market volatility and economic uncertainty persist, events in the first half of this year support our view that continued investment in our industry is imperative – both to ensure markets remain well-supplied and to facilitate an orderly energy transition said Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser.
“Indeed, we expect oil demand to continue growing for the remainder of the decade, despite downward pressure on near-term global forecasts.”
Net income increased 22.7 percent from the first quarter amid “strong market conditions,” Aramco said. Half-year profit was $87.9 billion, up from $47.2 billion for the same period in 2021.
Aramco paid an $18.8 billion dividend in the second quarter and will pay the same amount in the third quarter.
Quarterly earnings, the highest since Aramco went public in late 2019, beat analysts’ forecasts of $46.2 billion.
Aramco was valued at 40.8 riyals ($10.9) before the Saudi stock exchange opened on Sunday.
Aramco took 1.7 percent of its shares public on the Saudi stock exchange in December 2019, raising $29.4 billion in the world’s largest IPO.
The “crown jewel” and most important source of income of the conservative kingdom temporarily replaced Apple as the most valuable company in the world in March. It is now second in the list.
Saudi Arabia has sought to open up and diversify its oil-dependent economy, particularly since Mohammed bin Salman’s appointment as crown prince and de facto ruler in 2017.
Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency said global oil demand will grow more this year than previously forecast, as heat waves and rising gas prices prompt countries to switch to fuels for power generation.
Oil prices have fallen $30 a barrel from a June peak on rising supplies but remain close to $100.
The OPEC group of oil-producing countries has gradually increased production despite pressure from Western leaders including US President Joe Biden – who visited Saudi Arabia last month – to pump more.
Biden’s trip has been seen as a relegation after earlier promising to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the 2018 assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Turkey.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also visited Saudi Arabia since the Russian invasion in February.
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