By Canadian Press

Oil giant Saudi Aramco sees 2020 profits drop to $49 billion

Mar 20, 2021 | 11:14 PM

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia’s state-backed oil giant Aramco announced Sunday that its profits fell sharply in 2020 to $49 billion, a big drop that came as the coronavirus pandemic roiled global energy markets.

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. released its financial results a year after the pandemic sent the price of oil crashing to all-time lows as people stopped moving around the world to stem the spread of the virus. In recent weeks, however, the price has edged up as movement restrictions ease, commerce increases and more people get vaccinated against COVID-19. Still, analysts caution that a peak in demand may still be far off.

The public figures, obligatory ever since the mostly state-owned company listed a sliver of its worth on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange in 2019, offers valuable insight into the health of the region’s largest economy. Despite Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to diversify the economy away from oil, the kingdom remains heavily dependent on oil exports to fuel government spending.

Saudi Aramco profit of $49 billion in 2020 is down from $88.2 in 2019 and $111.1 billion in 2018. Still, Aramaco remains one of the world’s most valuable companies.

The company produced the equivalent of 9.2 million barrels per day of crude oil over the course of the year, its annual results said. Capital expenditure was down in 2020 to $27 billion compared to $32.8 billion the year before. Aramco expects to spend $35 billion this year, significantly lower than the previous estimates of $40-$45 billion.

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The Associated Press