Saudi Aramco reports ‘record’ $161 billion profit for 2022

Saudi Aramco reports ‘record’ $161 billion profit for 2022

Saudi Aramco said on Sunday it achieved "record" profits totalling $161.1 billion last year, highlighting how a surge in oil prices after Russia invaded Ukraine spurred growth in the world's biggest crude exporter.

The mostly state-owned energy giant, the world's second most valuable company behind Apple, said in a filing with the Saudi stock market that net income for 2022 was up 46 percent from $110 billion in 2021.

The results -- the strongest since Aramco became a listed company in 2019 -- were "predominantly due to the impact of higher crude oil prices and volumes sold, and stronger refining margins," it said.

Aramco's gains are consistent with record profits for 2022 reported by the five oil majors –- Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and TotalEnergies -- which surpassed $150 billion and would have been closer to $200 billion without costly withdrawals from Russia.

They also fuelled Saudi Arabia's overall economic growth which officials put at 8.7 percent in 2022, the highest rate in the G20.

The net income figure is nearly double the $88.2 billion the firm pulled in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

"Aramco rode the wave of high energy prices in 2022. It's what the company is geared to do," said Robert