Saudi Aramco’s net income for Q1 2024 fell due to lower crude sales.
The company maintained its $31.1 billion dividend payout despite the profit dip.
This prioritization of shareholder payouts over short-term profit raises questions about Aramco’s strategy.
Oil prices slid more than $1 a barrel on Monday, with Brent falling below $90, as Middle East tensions eased after Israel withdrew more soldiers from southern Gaza and committed to fresh talks on a potential ceasefire in the six-month conflict.
The Iraqi Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul-Ghani, said that the Oil Ministry is taking steps to reach a production capacity of five million barrels per day despite the serious restrictions on oil markets and the OPEC countries’ quota limitations to maintain price stability.
Russia-Saudi oil cooperation is still going strong as part of the OPEC+ alliance, which will do “whatever necessary” to support the market, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told a conference on Wednesday.
The discovery was made by Saudi Aramco, a leading company in the production of energy and chemical products. This company is already recognized for locating new gas reserves in times of national decline.
Saudi Arabia’s government transferred a further $164 billion stake in Aramco to the Public Investment Fund, a move aimed at bolstering cashflow at the state-backed investor that’s ramping up spending on huge local projects.
In an oil market update sent to Rigzone late Tuesday, Rystad Energy Senior Vice President Jorge Leon outlined that OPEC+’s extended production cuts of 1.7 million barrels per day into the second quarter have resulted in an increase of $5 per barrel to Rystad Energy’s previous price projection.
Since commencing oil production in 2019, Guyana’s fortunes have changed dramatically. With a population of just 800,000, this small South American nation is on track to become one of the world’s leading oil producers per capita in 2024, potentially surpassing major oil-producing nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar shortly.
Rising geopolitical risk pushed Brent well past $80 last week, but the brief price rally has been dampened by continued economic concerns and a strong supply situation.
Saudi Arabia is exporting crude oil via the Red Sea as usual despite Houthi attacks on vessels in the region, a senior Aramco official told Bloomberg.
“We’re moving in the Red Sea with our oil and products cargoes,” Mohammed Al Qahtani, head of Aramco’s refining, oil trading and marketing division said, adding that the risks were “manageable”.