Saudi Arabia’s state oil company reported a 26% jump in first-quarter profits as its east-west pipeline allowed it to transport millions of barrels of oil from the Gulf despite the conflict in the Middle East.
Saudi Aramco’s profit reached $33.6 billion (£26.9 billion) in the first three months of the year, while revenue rose almost 7% year-on-year to $115.5 billion.
The profit rise came even as Aramco struggled with attacks on its infrastructure and a ban on exports through its Gulf ports.
Amin Nasser, the company’s president and CEO, said: “Our East-West pipeline, which has reached its maximum capacity of 7 million barrels of oil per day, has proven to be an important supply artery, helping to mitigate the impact of a global energy shock and providing relief to customers affected by shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz.”
The strait, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies normally flow, has been effectively closed since the war between the United States and Iran began in late February. Aramco’s east-west pipeline allows oil to be transported from the east coast to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
The disruption in the strait has caused global energy prices to rise, with Brent crude – the international benchmark – trading at around $100 a barrel, about 40% higher than before the conflict.
Nasser, who previously warned that the ongoing blockage of the Strait of Hormuz would be a “disaster” for global oil markets, said it would take months for the market to return to normal even if the Strait reopened immediately.
“If trade flows resume immediately or today through the Strait of Hormuz, it will take several months for the oil market to regain balance,” he wrote in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. “But if trade and shipping remain restricted for more than a few weeks from today, we expect supply disruptions to continue and the market will not return to normal until 2027.”
His comments come as the US awaits a response from Iran to its proposals for an interim agreement to end the conflict. Fighting has erupted in and around the strait in recent days after Donald Trump announced and then suspended a naval mission to open the waterway.
Aramco said it would maintain its quarterly dividend at $21.9 billion after increasing the payout by 3.5% late last year.
Saudi Arabia relies heavily on Aramco’s dividends to fund its domestic spending. The state directly owns more than 80% of the company, while its state investor, the Public Investment Fund, holds 16%.
Aramco, headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, employs more than 76,000 people worldwide and is one of the largest companies and oil producers in the world.
