Saudi oil giant Aramco has announced a record profit of €151 billion for 2022, marking a 46.5% rise for the state-owned company compared with last year.
Aramco is the latest energy firm to report record profits, after energy prices spiked following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Most of that dividend amount will go to the Saudi Arabian government, which owns nearly 95% of the shares in the company.
Aramco also hopes to increase its production to take advantage of market demand as China reenters the global market after lifting its coronavirus restrictions. That could raise the billions needed to pay for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to develop futuristic cityscapes to pivot Saudi Arabia away from oil.
“Given that we anticipate oil and gas will remain essential for the foreseeable future, the risks of underinvestment in our industry are real — including contributing to higher energy prices,” Saudi Aramco CEO and President Amin H. Nasser said in a statement.
In a tweet, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard hit out at the exorbitant profits — pointing out the effects of fossil fuels on climate change and adding that the wealth was amassed during a global cost-of-living crisis.
Saudi Arabia has pledged to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, like China and Russia, though its plans to reach that goal remain unclear.
Aramco’s earnings report noted it started a €1.4 billion Sustainability Fund in October and plans a carbon-capture-and-storage facility as well