Saudi Aramco profits fall 9.9% amid weaker oil prices

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
Today 09:34

The state-owned energy giant’s earnings dropped to $75.6 billion in the first nine months of 2025 as lower oil prices, OPEC+ cuts, and higher expenditures tightened margins.

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Saudi Aramco engineers and journalists look at the Hawiyah Natural Gas Liquids Recovery Plant in Hawiyah, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2021. (AP)

Saudi Aramco announced that its net profit for the first nine months of 2025 fell by 9.9% to $75.621 billion, down from $83.906 billion in the same period last year, according to RIA Novosti. The company said its capital expenditures rose by 3.4%, reaching $37.413 billion, while free cash flow declined by 9% to $57.956 billion.

Aramco attributed the weaker results primarily to lower crude oil prices, with the average price per barrel dropping to $71, compared with $82.7 during the same period in 2024. Lower global oil prices, reduced production under OPEC+ cuts, and weaker refining margins weighed on earnings.

AI to double oil output: Aramco chief

Earlier, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said artificial intelligence and digitalization could double the productivity of oil wells, asserting that fossil fuels will remain a cornerstone of global energy for decades. Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh, Nasser said Aramco is now reaping returns from tens of billions of dollars invested in computing and thousands of new data scientists.

“Most of the savings come from adopting AI and digitalization in the plants, in the assets themselves, because this is where you get the highest value,” he said, adding, “If you drill a well and capitalize on AI and digitalization, you can increase productivity two times as much.”

Nasser noted that AI could enhance oil exploration through better imaging and help cut emissions by detecting leaks and corrosion. While renewables are expanding, with solar and wind power surpassing coal for the first time this year, according to energy think tank Ember, Nasser argued that oil and gas remain indispensable.

Although profits fell, Nasser had said that global demand for oil remains robust, even before the latest Western sanctions on Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil take effect. Addressing the conference attendees, Nasser remarked that it was still too early to gauge the potential market consequences, stating, "We have to wait and see what comes out of these sanctions."