Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco), the Saudi state-owned oil giant, yesterday posted first-quarter profits of US$26 billion, down 4.6 percent from the prior year as falling global oil prices undermine the kingdom’s multitrillion-dollar development plans.
Aramco had revenues of US$108.1 billion over the quarter, the company reported in a filing on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange.
The company saw US$107.2 billion in revenues and profits of US$27.2 billion for the same period last year.
Photo: AFP
Saudi Arabia has promised to invest US$600 billion in the US over the course of US President Donald Trump’s second term.
Trump, who is set to touch down in Riyadh tomorrow on his first official foreign trip since he retook the Oval Office, in January said that he wants that number to be even higher, at about US$1 trillion.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabian de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, has his sights set on a US$500 billion project to build Neom, a vast, futuristic city in the desert along the Red Sea.
The kingdom would also need new stadiums and infrastructure costing tens of billions of dollars by 2034, when Saudi Arabia is to host the FIFA World Cup.
The announcement of Aramco’s first-quarter results comes as the OPEC+ alliance has ramped up oil production. The oil cartel has agreed to boost output by 411,000 barrels per day next month, as uncertainty driven by US tariffs has rippled through Middle Eastern markets. That means Saudi Arabia would likely need to borrow or spend reserve funds to finance the crown prince’s expensive goals.
“Global trade dynamics affected energy markets in the first quarter of 2025, with economic uncertainty impacting oil prices,” Aramco president and CEO Amin H. Nasser said in a statement.
Benchmark Brent crude traded on Friday at more than US$63 a barrel, down from highs of more than US$80 last year.
Aramco has a market value of more than US$1.6 trillion, making it the sixth-richest company behind Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc. Analysts see the company as a trend leader for global oil markets.
Aramco traded at over US$6 a share yesterday, down from a high of around US$8 last year. It has dropped over the past year as oil prices have dipped, and in recent months.
A fraction of Aramco trades on the Saudi Stock Exchange, or Tadawul, while the lion’s share of the company is owned by Saudi Arabia’s government, helping pay for expenditures and adding to the wealth of the country’s Al Saud royal family.
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