Saudi oil company Aramco records a 124% increase in profits

The Saudi state company Aramco, considered the largest oil company in the world, recorded net profits of 110,000 million dollars in 2021, 124% more than in the previous year, well above even 2019, before the crisis caused by the pandemic of covid-19, as reported by the company this Sunday.

These profits are not only more than double those of 2020, which were 49,000 million dollars, but also represent 24.7% more than those of the last year before the expansion of the coronavirus caused the world economy to retreat strongly and almost equal the peak of 111.1 billion registered in 2018.

Aramco attributed the good results to "higher crude prices, higher profit margins in the refinery and the chemical sector and the consolidation of the annual results of Sabic", the petrochemical company that it bought from the Dutch company DSM in June 2020. Our strong results are a testament to our financial discipline, our flexibility amid changing market conditions, and our unwavering commitment to our long-term growth strategy," CEO Amin Nasser said in the statement. which announced its annual results.

The Saudi state-owned company also announced its growth strategy for the coming years, including an increase in gas production capacity of more than 50% over the next nine years to reach 2,000 standard cubic feet. of natural gas per day by 2030. This forecast would mean “reaching a sustainable gas rate of 2 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day” by 2030, he added.

In addition, it placed in 2027 the date by which it intends to reach its objective of reaching a maximum sustainable oil capacity of 13 million barrels per day.

Last year, the company produced 12.3 million oil equivalents, of which 9.2 million were crude oil.

Aramco distributed dividends of 18.8 billion dollars in the fourth quarter of 2021, an amount that it has kept fixed even during the most complicated months of the pandemic, although it had to resort to external financing and the sale or rental of some assets.

Aramco went public in December 2019, but only placed 1.5% of its shares, although it has been announcing its intention to increase that percentage for some time.

The rest remains in the hands of the Saudi State, either directly or through the Public Investment Fund (FIP), the sovereign wealth fund directly managed by the country's crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohameb bin Salman.