Saudi Aramco Posts Record Net Income of $161.1 Billion in 2022
Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil and gas company, reported a record net income of $161.1 billion for 2022, the biggest annual profit ever achieved by an oil and gas company.[0] With soaring energy prices, rising global demand and western sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Aramco's gains are consistent with record profits for 2022 reported by the five oil majors – Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and TotalEnergies – which surpassed US$150 billion.[1]
Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said: “Given that we anticipate oil and gas will remain essential for the foreseeable future, the risks of underinvestment in our industry are real — including contributing to higher energy prices.”[0] He added that the company’s focus is not only on “expanding oil, gas and chemicals production, but also investing in new lower-carbon technologies with the potential to achieve additional emission reductions — in our own operations and for end users of our products.”[1]
The company reaffirmed that it will keep investing in order to raise its maximum production capacity to 13 million barrels per day by 2027.[1] Capital expenditure rose by 18% to $37.6 billion last year, and is expected to increase to between $45 billion and $55 billion in the coming years.[2]
The figures for the year 2022 are almost three times the profit gained by big oil company ExxonMobil, aided by rising prices of petroleum and natural gas, alongside larger amounts of sales and better margins on processed products.[1] The sheer size of the $161 billion profit overshadowed even its own previous results, as well as records by Apple, Vodafone and the U.S. Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae.[3]
The profits also fuelled Saudi Arabia's overall economic growth which officials put at 8.7 per cent in 2022, the highest rate in the G20. [4]Agnès Callamard, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, expressed shock over the US$161 billion profit garnered by a company through the sale of fossil fuel – the foremost cause of the climate crisis – in a single year.[5] The accumulation of this surplus is even more shocking, given the global cost-of-living crisis and the escalated energy prices due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.[3]
0. “Four takeaways as oil giant Saudi Aramco reports a huge $161 billion profit” WBUR News, 12 Mar. 2023, https://www.wbur.org/npr/1162913165/four-takeaways-oil-giant-saudi-aramco-a-huge-161bn-profit
1. “Affordability and supply security key to achieving energy transition: Aramco CEO” Arab News, 12 Mar. 2023, https://www.arabnews.com/node/2267056/business-economy
2. “Saudi Aramco’ s $161bn profit is largest recorded by an oil and gas firm” The Guardian, 12 Mar. 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/mar/12/saudi-aramco-161bn-profit-is-largest-recorded-by-an-oil-and-gas-firm
3. “Oil giant Saudi Aramco makes a historic $161B profit in 2022” Toledo Blade, 12 Mar. 2023, https://www.toledoblade.com/business/energy/2023/03/12/oil-giant-saudi-aramco-makes-historic-161b-profit-2022/stories/20230312128
4. “Saudi economy registers highest growth rate in 10 years” Saudi Gazette, 9 Mar. 2023, https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/630548/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-economy-registers-highest-growth-rate-in-10-years
5. “Saudi Arabia: Aramco’s profits, the largest ever by a company, should support funding a global transition to renewable …” Amnesty International, 12 Mar. 2023, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/03/saudi-arabia-aramcos-profits-the-largest-ever-by-a-company-should-support-funding-a-global-transition-to-renewable-energy/
