Aramco profit jumps 35%

Saudi oil giant Aramco reported on Tuesday a 34.6% rise in third-quarter net profit, as the war in the Middle East continued to push oil prices higher despite repeated attacks on the kingdom’s energy infrastructure.

Net income reached 135.9 billion riyals ($36.2 billion), up from around 101 billion riyals a year earlier, driven largely by sustained high crude prices.

The windfall comes despite serious disruption. Since fighting resumed in July between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, the rebels have repeatedly targeted tankers, storage sites, refineries and a strategic pipeline, with attacks intensifying in recent weeks. 

The Houthis are also disrupting traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while Iran is hampering shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, complicating Saudi exports on both sides of the Arabian Peninsula.

Aramco is not alone in reaping the benefits. The five Western oil and gas majors posted combined net profits of more than $50 billion in the third quarter, up 138% year on year, according to AFP calculations, boosted by higher prices, refining margins and tight diesel markets.

Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser nonetheless sounded a warning. Geopolitical uncertainty and attacks on strategic energy facilities, he said, continued to deepen the global energy supply crisis in the third quarter, “with serious consequences for global energy security.”