FILE - Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco and stock market officials celebrate the debut of Aramco's initial public offering on the Riyadh Stock Market, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 11, 2019. Saudi Arabia's crown prince transferred another 8% of shares in the kingdom's oil giant Saudi Aramco to the country's prominent sovereign wealth fund Thursday, March 7, 2024, shares worth some $160 billion. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Saudi oil giant Aramco on Sunday reported it made $121 billion in profit last year, down from its 2022 record due to lower energy prices.
Aramco made the announcement in a filing in Riyadh’s Tadawul stock market.
It had reported a $161 billion profit in 2022, likely the largest ever reported by a publicly traded company.
“The decrease mainly reflects the impact of lower crude oil prices and lower volumes sold, and weakening refining and chemicals margins,” the company said in its filing.
The energy giant had planned a conference call Monday to discuss its results.
Saudi Arabia’s vast oil resources, located close to the surface of its desert expanse, make it one of the world’s least expensive places to produce crude. The crown prince hopes to use the oil wealth to pivot the kingdom off oil sales, such as with his planned $500 billion futuristic desert city, called Neom, and other projects.
Meanwhile, activists criticized the profits amid global concerns about the burning of fossil fuels accelerating climate change.
