Lower oil prices weigh on Saudi Aramco bottomline

Lower oil prices weigh on Saudi Aramco bottomline

Oil giant's first quarter profit down 20% to $31b

An Aramco oil facility, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s least expensive places to produce crude. — AP file

By AP Published: Tue 9 May 2023, 1:39 PM

Saudi Aramco reported a first-quarter profit on Tuesday of $31.88 billion, down nearly 20 per cent from the same period last year as energy prices have sunk over global recession concerns.

The firm blamed the drop — compared to $39.47 billion in the same quarter last year — on the lower crude oil prices. Aramco made a $30.73 billion profit in the fourth quarter of last year.

“The results reflect Aramco’s continued high reliability, focus on cost and our ability to react to market conditions as we generate strong cash flows and further strengthen the balance sheet,” Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said in a statement.

Aramco separately said that it “believes it is well-positioned to withstand fluctuating commodity prices through its low-cost upstream production.” Benchmark Brent crude traded early on Tuesday around $76 a barrel, down from a high of $125 in the last year.

Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s least expensive places to produce crude. For every $10 rise