Aramco reported record profits.

Saudi Aramco is the biggest crude producer and one of the few companies with excess production capacity that can be used by Riyadh to increase or decrease supply in line with demand. It rose output up to 2022 before Saudi Arabia, in partnership with other members of the Opec cartel, defied US pressure and cut production in November in response to what it said at the time was a weaker outlook for demand. Saudi Aramco is one of the few companies investing in increasing its production capacity from almost 12mn barrels a day to 13mn. Saudi Aramco expects to spend $45bn-$55bn in 2023, in what Nasser described as a continuation of the «largest capital spending programme in history».

Aramco raised its dividend by 4 per cent for the fourth quarter to $19.5bn, to be paid by the end of March. The payment is a vital source of revenue for the Saudi government, which directly owns more than 94 per cent of Aramco stock. It listed slightly less than 2 per cent of the company’s shares in December 2019 and passed another 4 per cent to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund in 2022. Last year Saudi Aramco produced 11.5mn b/d of crude and other liquids, representing about 10 per cent of oil supply.

Despite the shift, Nasser said Saudi Aramco had been able to maintain prices for its crude in Asia and had not lost share. Moreover, the group’s long-term relationships with buyers in India and China and its record as a reliable supplier meant Saudi Aramco had retained a «healthy call on our oil production from these markets despite the Russian crude increasing», he added.

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