Saudi Aramco profit drops 19% on lower oil prices

Saudi Aramco profit drops 19% on lower oil prices

May 9, 2023









Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Aramco reported a significant decrease in profit on Tuesday. The news is likely related to oil prices being lower than they were a year ago, and the company is bullish following recent deals in China and the United States.

Aramco’s net income for the first quarter of 2023 was $31.9 billion. This constituted a roughly 19% decrease from the $39.5 billion reported during the same period in 2022, Aramco said in a press release.

Background: The price of Brent crude oil, considered the benchmark for global oil prices, was more than $80 per barrel at the start of 2022 and ultimately rose above $100 by the end of the first quarter in March of that year. This was largely due to the supply chain shocks related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Oil prices fell later in the year. At the start of this year, Brent crude was trading around $85 per barrel but fell below $73 per barrel in March.

Saudi officials have repeatedly said that market “stability” is their goal. Unsurprisingly, the Saudi-led OPEC+ alliance announced a supply cut in April in a bid to bring prices back up.