SAUDI ARAMCO PROFIT SOARS ON HIGHER OIL PRICES

The Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco has pledged to boost investments by half this year amid soaring oil prices, as well as to double profits by 2021, under pressure from the West.

A year ago, the company made $49 billion in profit, but now it has a net profit of $110 billion. The average analyst estimate on Refinitiv’s Eikon was $106 billion net profit.

Brent crude futures ended 2021 up 50.5%, its biggest gain since 2016. Oil prices surged past $100 a barrel last month after Russia invaded Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special operation.”

($1 = 3.7515 riyals)

Aramco also plans to develop a significant hydrogen export capability and become a global leader in carbon capture and storage technology, it said. 

“Although economic conditions have improved considerably, the outlook remains uncertain due to various macro-economic and geopolitical factors,” CEO Amin Nasser said in a statement. 

“But our investment plan aims to tap into rising long-term demand for reliable, affordable and ever more secure and sustainable energy.”