Oil tycoon Saudi Aramco announced $161 billion in revenue for the previous year, saying it was the greatest yearly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded business and prompting outrage from campaigners.
The Saudi Arabian Oil Company, as the company is officially named, made a huge profit as energy costs rose as a result of restrictions on the selling of Moscow’s oil and natural gas in Western markets due to sanctions.
With a market cap of $1.9 trillion, Aramco is among the most valuable corporations in the world, momentarily displacing Apple Inc. in May. Despite concerns about a recession in the United States and Europe, Saudi Arabia’s economy has grown thanks to its performance.
According to the International Monetary Fund, the kingdom, which has the largest economy in the area, experienced the highest gross domestic product growth among major economies last year. The biggest oil exporter in the world can anticipate another successful year in 2023.
In an effort to rebrand Saudi Arabia as a major international business and tourist destination that would compete with other Persian Gulf airlines, the government announced the launch of a new national airline, Riyadh Air, on Sunday. As Beijing’s influence in the area grows, that came after news on Friday of a surprising agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to reestablish diplomatic ties.Â
Aramco also hopes to increase its production to take advantage of market demand as China re-enters the global market after lifting its co*ronavirus restrictions. That could raise the billions needed to pay for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to develop futuristic cityscapes to pivot Saudi Arabia away from oil.
However, those plans come despite growing international concerns over the burning of fossil fuels accelerating climate change. Meanwhile, higher energy prices have already strained relations between Riyadh and Washington as well as driven up inflation worldwide.
“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.
