RIYADH — Oil giant
Saudi Aramco on Sunday reported a
124 percent net profit surge for last year, in results released hours after its
facilities were hit by Yemeni rebel drone and missile strikes.
اضافة اعلان
As the world economy started to rebound from the COVID
pandemic, "Aramco's net income increased by 124 percent to $110.0 billion
in 2021, compared to $49.0 billion in 2020," the company said.
The results followed news of the overnight attacks by
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which caused no reported casualties but hit
targets including Aramco facilities and a water desalination plant.
The attacks "led to a temporary reduction in the
refinery's production, which will be compensated for from the inventory,"
said the
Saudi energy ministry in a statement on state media, without providing
numbers.
The Saudi-led military coalition which backs Yemen's
government said it intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles and drones
launched towards Jizan and other areas in the kingdom, causing
"damage" to several sites.
"Initial investigations indicate the militia used
Iranian cruise missiles that targeted Al-Shaqeeq desalination plant and
Aramco's Jizan bulk plant," it said in a statement.
Targets included a Dhahran Al-Janoub power station, an
Aramco gas plant in Yanbu and a gas station in Khamis Mushait, it said.
The
Houthis confirmed they had launched the drone and
missile attacks targeting a number of "vital and important" sites,
including Aramco facilities.
In 2019, Houthi-claimed aerial assaults on two Aramco facilities
in eastern Saudi Arabia temporarily knocked out half of the kingdom's crude
production.
The Saudi energy ministry said in its statement the attacks
had targeted a gas plant and the YASREF refinery, which produces 400,000
barrels per day according to its website, in the Yanbu Industrial City on the
Red Sea.
‘Geopolitical factors’
The kingdom, one of the world's top crude exporters, has
been under pressure to raise output as
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and
subsequent sanctions against Moscow have roiled global energy markets.
Oil-rich Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, have so far
resisted the pressure, stressing their commitment to the
OPEC+ alliance of oil
producers led by Riyadh and Moscow.
Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser cautioned that the
company's outlook remained uncertain due in part to "geopolitical
factors".
Alluding to the effect price spikes have had on consumers,
he noted that "energy security is paramount for billions of people".
"We continue to make progress on increasing our
crude oil production capacity, executing our gas expansion program and increasing our
liquids to chemicals capacity," Nasser added.
On the latest results, for 2021, he acknowledged that
"economic conditions have improved considerably".
The oil giant had in 2019 achieved a net income of $88.2
billion before the pandemic hit global markets, resulting in huge losses for
the energy and aviation sectors, among others.
A strong rebound last year saw demand for oil increase and
prices recover from their 2020 lows.
Brent crude has repeatedly spiked above $100 per barrel
lately, driven by supply concerns centered on Russia's invasion of
Ukraine.
Saudi Aramco also said capital expenditure in 2021 was up 18
percent on 2020 at $31.9 billion, a figure it expected to raise to
approximately $40 billion-50 billion this year, before further growth.
Saudi Arabia has sought both to open up and diversify its
oil-reliant economy, especially since Mohammed bin Salman's appointment as
crown prince in 2017.
Aramco floated 1.7 percent of its shares on the Saudi bourse
in December 2019, generating $29.4 billion in the world's biggest initial
public offering.
In February, the kingdom shifted four percent of Aramco
shares, worth $80 billion, to the country's sovereign wealth fund — a move seen
as a possible prelude to further opening up the oil giant.
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