Saudi Aramco Profit Drops 30 Percent in First Half of 2023

Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state-run oil company, saw its profits drop 30 percent in the first six months of 2023, as crude oil prices came back down following last year's surge in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The company reported a net income of $62 billion for the first half of the year, down from $88 billion in 2022. The average realized crude oil price per barrel amounted to $79.9 per barrel, down 24 percent from $105.6 per barrel in the first six months of 2022.

“Our strong results reflect our resilience and ability to adapt through market cycles," the company's CEO Amin Nasser said in a statement. “At Aramco, our mid to long-term view remains unchanged. With a recovery anticipated in the broader global economy, along with increased activity in the aviation sector, ongoing investments in energy projects will be necessary to safeguard energy security," he added with respect to the company's ongoing investment in oil and gas production capacity. In the first half of 2023, Aramco's capital expenditures amounted to $19.2 billion, up from $16.9 billion last year.

According to Fortune, Saudi Aramco was the second largest company in the world in terms of revenue last year. With total revenue of $603.7 billion, the energy giant only trailed Walmart in that respect. Thanks to the global surge in oil and gas prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the company reported the largest-ever corporate profit of $159 billion in 2022.