Saudi Aramco's first quarter net income down 14.5 percent

RIYADH

Oil giant Saudi Aramco announced first-quarter net profit of $27.27 billion on Tuesday, down 14.5 percent from last year as the Gulf kingdom kept production cuts in place.

Net income was 102.27 billion riyals ($27.27 billion), down from 119.54 billion riyals ($31.88 billion) for the same quarter in 2023, Aramco said, adding that "the decrease was primarily a result of lower crude oil volume sold."

The world's biggest crude exporter is currently producing roughly nine million barrels per day (bpd), well below its capacity of 12 million bpd.

That follows a series of production cuts dating back to October 2022, when the OPEC+ bloc of oil producers that Riyadh co-leads with Moscow announced it would reduce output by two million bpd to boost prices.

On top of that cut, in April 2023 Saudi Arabia and several other OPEC+ members agreed to slash production voluntarily by more than one million bpd.

And after an OPEC+ meeting in June 2023, Riyadh announced another reduction of one million bpd.

In March, the energy ministry said the latest cut, which took effect in July 2023, would be extended through the second quarter of this year, after which "these additional cut volumes will be returned gradually, subject to market conditions."

Aramco is the jewel of the Saudi economy, and de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is depending on oil revenue to finance an ambitious economic and social reform programme known as Vision 2030 that is intended to position his country for a prosperous post-oil future.

Aramco sold 1.7 percent of its shares on the Saudi stock market in December 2019, generating $29.4 billion in the world's biggest initial public offering.