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