Big Oil’s 2023 ride was bumpy as prices swung, and Saudi Aramco’s annual results showed the impact. Still, at $121 billion profit, it remained a hugely successful year.
Though well off the record $161 billion bounty of 2022, Aramco boasted the second-highest profit ever. Yet, for the ambitious Crown Prince Mohammed, fewer funds squeeze his Vision 2030 reforms to diversify the economy.
Revenues fell too to $440 billion as crude prices weakened under OPEC+ output curbs. However, CEO Nasser hailed the “resilience and agility” as helping maintain strong cash flows.
Shareholders’ dividends rose despite decreased earnings, a boon for the world’s most valuable firm. Still, activists argue profits come at the cost of accelerating climate woes.
Saudi Arabia’s future remains oil-dependent as pumping stays high despite earlier plans to increase production. More Aramco shares have also recently been passed to the kingdom’s mammoth sovereign fund.
It proved an eventful year for the energy behemoth riding the volatile commodity rollercoaster. Yet massive profits show why Saudi pins its hopes on black gold for decades more.
