The world’s top crude oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, reported on Tuesday a 20% decline in second-quarter earnings as lower oil prices weighed on revenues despite rising production in line with the OPEC+ policy.
Aramco, which is also the world’s biggest oil company by market capitalization and production, booked a net income attributable to shareholders of $22.85 billion for the second quarter, down by 19% from the same period last year. The income also fell compared to the first quarter as Aramco’s average realized crude price was $66.70 per barrel in April to June, down from $76.30 in the first quarter and from $85.70 a barrel for the second quarter of last year.
The drop in earnings was mainly due to the decline in revenues on the back of lower oil prices, as well as higher operating costs, the Saudi oil giant said.
The higher volumes of crude oil that Aramco has been pumping since April – in line with OPEC+’s decision to accelerate the rollback of the production cuts – failed to offset the $10 per barrel slide in international oil prices in the second quarter. Prices slumped as OPEC+ accelerated production increases and as U.S. President Donald Trump roiled commodity markets with inconsistent tariff policies toward key U.S. trade partners.
Aramco’s board declared a base dividend of $21.1 billion for the second quarter and a performance-linked dividend of $200 million. The performance-linked dividend was slashed last year as prices fell and Aramco struggled to pay the huge dividends to its shareholders, the biggest of which with over 90% is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Falling profits have prompted Aramco to tap the debt markets for bond issuances.
Still, Aramco struck an upbeat tone in its outlook.
“Market fundamentals remain strong and we anticipate oil demand in the second half of 2025 to be more than two million barrels per day higher than the first half,” Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser said.
“Our long-term strategy is consistent with our belief that hydrocarbons will continue to play a vital role in global energy and chemicals markets, and we are ready to play our part in meeting customer demand over the short and the long term.”
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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