Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) – Saudi Aramco’s profit slid 22 percent in the second quarter to 85 billion riyals ($22.67 billion) as a slump in prices hit revenues, the oil giant said on Tuesday. Aramco, the world’s biggest oil exporter and driver of the Saudi economy, has now seen profits decline for 10 straight quarters since record results in late 2022.
“The decrease in revenue was mainly due to lower crude oil prices and lower refined and chemical products prices,” Aramco said in its quarterly report. The Gulf oil major was trading at 23.91 riyals on Tuesday, 12 percent below the 27.35 riyals price of its secondary share offering last year.
Since a high point of nearly $2.4 trillion in 2022, when oil prices soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Aramco has lost more than $800 billion in market value. Oil prices, currently around $70 a barrel, have remained low despite tensions roiling the Middle East, including the short-lived Israel-Iran war in June.
“Market fundamentals remain strong and we anticipate oil demand in the second half of 2025 to be more than two million barrels per day higher than the first half,” said Aramco president and CEO Amin H. Nasser.
© 2024 AFP
