Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi energy minister
Aramco hits fresh financial highs
The Saudi oil behemoth is funnelling record earnings into domestic upstream
Saudi Aramco regained its crown as the world’s most-valuable company in mid-May, knocking US tech giant Apple off its perch. Four days later, the NOC heavyweight unveiled the fundamentals validating shareholder confidence—reporting an 82pc year-on-year surge in first-quarter profits, to $39.5bn, the highest since its listing in 2019, on the back of a surge in prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine combined with incremental unwinding of Opec+ production cuts. Saudi energy minister Abdulaziz bin Salman has pledged to focus capex from ever-larger cash riches on domestic upstream expansion, reiterating Riyadh’s defiant and unwavering insistence on the continued need for investment in o
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