Robert Besser
14 Mar 2023, 22:45 GMT+10
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Oil giant Saudi Aramco has announced 2022 earnings totaling $161 billion, the highest-ever annual profit by a publicly listed company, which immediately drew criticism from activists.
The record profit was due to rising energy prices after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and subsequent sanctions that limited the sale of Russian oil and natural gas to Western countries.
As China is re-entering the global market after the end of its coronavirus restrictions, Aramco also plans to increase production to take advantage of market demand.
However, high energy prices have driven global inflation and strained relations between Riyadh and Washington.
In a statement, Saudi Aramco CEO and President Amin H. 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."
Compared to its 2021 profits of $110 billion, Saudi Aramco's profits rose 46.5 percent in 2022.
Aramco also declared a dividend of $19.5 billion for the fourth quarter of 2022, which will be paid in the first quarter of 2023.
Aramco's results mirror the 2022 profits announced by other energy giants, such as BP, Exxon Mobil and Shell, but the Saudi company's $161 billion profit overshadowed its own previous results.
Like China and Russia, Saudi Arabia has pledged to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, but it has not confirmed how it will reach that goal.
Get a daily dose of Africa Leader news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Africa Leader.
More InformationIsrael resumed its military operation in the Gaza Strip on Friday with heavy bombardments. As strikes continue, the United States ...
LIVINGSTON, Kentucky: CSX railroad said that a failed wheel bearing on a train car caused a derailment on November 22 ...
HELSINKI, Finland: After Finland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) earlier this year, hundreds of migrants from the Middle ...
CHISINAU, Moldova: Over the weekend, heavy snowfall and strong blizzards in Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria left one person dead and ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: After a House Ethics Committee report found substantial evidence that he broke the law, New York Republican representative ...
In a report by The New York Times, it has been revealed that Israeli officials had obtained a detailed battle ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: This week, the White House said that Senior Biden administration officials met with the makers of respiratory syncytial ...
CHEYENNE, Wyoming: This week, the Biden administration raised US$3.4 million from a sale of oil and gas drilling rights in ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks extended their rally on Friday despite remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell ...
MOSCOW, Russia: Russia's trade in oil with India, one of the most lucrative oil trade routes since the imposition of ...
LONDON - Health experts and tobacco campaigners have strongly criticized New Zealand's decision to repeal laws that aimed to ban ...
NEW YORK, New York - The Dow Jones index was the standout on U.S. financial markets on Thursday with a ...