Saudi Aramco Profits Jump 35% to $36.3B Despite War
By @sharedot · · 6 pages
- World
- Middle East
- Oil
- Saudi Aramco
The eight-month Iran war lifted oil prices high enough that Saudi Aramco's third-quarter net profit rose 35% to $36.3 billion despite Houthi attacks.
A war's spoils: Aramco's Q3 profit soars
Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, reported a 35% jump in third-quarter net profit to $36.3 billion, up from $26.9 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, according to CBS and AP.
Adjusted net profit, which strips out the sale of its stake in Malaysian refining and petrochemical firm PRefChem to Malaysia's state oil company Petronas, rose 9% to $31.2 billion. The company said strong refinery margins that turn crude into products like diesel also lifted earnings.
Notably, the gains came even as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have repeatedly attacked Aramco facilities during the eight-month war.
Why the war boosted, not broke, oil earnings
The reversal is striking: the outbreak of the Iran war disrupted supply and raised uncertainty about the conflict's course, and oil prices surged as a result.
Aramco said it sold its crude for an average of $95.20 a barrel during the quarter, compared with $70.10 in the year-earlier quarter, per CBS/AP.
Higher prices and refinery margins more than offset the physical disruption of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which remains at risk of Iranian attack.
In effect, the price shock created by the conflict rewarded the majority state-owned producer even as attacks targeted its own infrastructure.
How Saudi oil kept flowing
Aramco's exports have continued despite the blockade risks. After the war began, the company used its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to maintain a significant share of oil exports even as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted.
CBS and AP report that pipeline was attacked on September 10 but has since resumed flows. Saudi oil is also being transported through the strait using a U.S.-protected corridor near the coast of Oman, allowing exports to persist despite Houthi attacks on Aramco facilities in Yemen.
The risks still compounding
The security picture around Aramco's heartland remains volatile. The National reports the IRGC claims two more tankers were destroyed by naval mines near the Strait of Hormuz and that it shot down another U.S. drone over the strait.
The disruption has now postponed the 2027 Asian Cup soccer tournament from January to December.