Aramco resumes upstream action
Oil market recovery is financing a cautious renewal of spending on core domestic projects
Saudi Aramco benefitted from rising oil prices to post a 30pc year-on-year leap in profits in Q1, to SAR78.6bn ($21bn)—a sharp contrast to the 44pc slump seen across 2020 as whole. But despite the prospects of more cash to come, the firm remains loath to lift spending. Crude production averaged a mere 8.6mn bl/d in the first three months of 2021 but will be permitted to rise to 9.23mn bl/d in May and gradually more thereafter. With Brent above 65/bl since mid-April, Aramco’s coffers should swell accordingly. 30pc – Year-on-year increase in Q1 profit But the firm restated in its Q1 results its downward revision of full-year capex to $35bn. Non-core investments in US LNG liquefaction a
Also in this section
23 March 2026
A complex and sometimes contradictory web of factors that include unpredictable oil prices, the globalisation of LNG markets, the expansion of Middle Eastern sovereign capital and the growth of datacentre demand will shape the energy landscape beyond 2026
23 March 2026
The Strait of Hormuz crisis highlights how key waterways can become global chokepoints
20 March 2026
Attacks on key oil and LNG assets across the Gulf mean a prolonged supply disruption, with damage to Qatar’s export capacity undermining confidence in the global gas system
20 March 2026
The US may be systemically stripping Russia of key geopolitical allies, but Moscow can reap rewards from the Hormuz crisis, both in the short and long term






