Saudi Aramco reported record profits of $161bn in 2022 and increased its payout to shareholders as the largely state-owned oil company cashed in on a tumultuous year in energy markets.
The Saudi Arabian producer on Sunday said it sold more oil than in 2021, improved refining margins and benefited from strong crude prices, which helped net income rise 47 per cent to its highest since the company began publishing results after listing in 2019.
The huge profits complete a record set of earnings for the world’s biggest oil and gas companies after fossil fuel prices soared last year due to disruption from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Shell reported 2022 earnings of almost $40bn, the highest in its 115-year history, while ExxonMobil made profits of $55.7bn, the most ever for a western oil company.