Saudi oil giant Aramco posts record profits of $161.1 billion for 2022

Riyadh, Mar 12 (EFE).- Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Aramco on Sunday announced record profits of $161.1 billion for 2022, a year that saw energy prices soar due to the war in Ukraine and increased demand following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The annual profits, up 46.5% from the previous year, are the largest ever recorded by a company in a single year, Amnesty International (AI) said.

In a statement, Aramco said “the results were underpinned by stronger crude oil prices, higher volumes sold and improved margins for refined products, while the company continues to strengthen its oil and gas production capacity, as well as its downstream portfolio, to meet anticipated future demand.”

Aramco’s president and CEO Amin Nasser said the company had delivered a “record financial performance” on the back of “strengthened” oil prices “due to increased demand around the world.”

“We also continued to focus on our long-term strategy, building both capacity and capability across the value chain with the aim of addressing energy security and sustainability,” Nasser added.

AI said the record profits “should be used to fund a human rights-based transition to renewable energy”.

Secretary-general Agnès Callamard said it was “shocking” that a company could make such profits through the sale of fossil fuels, “the single largest driver of the climate crisis.”

“It is all the more shocking because this surplus was amassed during a global cost-of-living crisis and aided by the increase in energy prices resulting from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” Callamard added.

“It is past time that Saudi Arabia acted in humanity’s interest and supported the phasing out of the fossil fuel industry, which is essential for preventing further climate harm,” she said. EFE

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