Higher oil prices boost Saudi Aramco profits despite disruption from attacks

FRANKFURT, Germany — Majority state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco on Tuesday reported a 35% increase in third-quarter net profit as earnings were boosted by higher oil prices and the sale of its stake in a Malaysian refining and petrochemical company.

Net profit rose to $36.3 billion from $26.9 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Adjusted net profit, which leaves out the sale of a stake in PRefChem to Malaysian state oil company Petronas, rose 9% to $31.2 billion.

The company also benefitted from high profit margins at its refineries turning crude into useable products such as diesel fuel.

Saudi Aramco sold its oil for an average of $95.20 a barrel during the quarter, compared to $70.10 in the year-before quarter, the company said in a news release. Oil prices surged after the outbreak of the Iran war due to disruption of supply and uncertainty about the course of the conflict.

After the war began in February, Saudi Aramco was able to use its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to maintain a significant share of its oil exports despite disruption of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz due to the risk of Iranian attack. The pipeline was attacked Sept. 10 but has resumed flows.

Saudi oil is now also being transported through the strait using a U.S.-protected corridor near the coast of Oman. Exports have continued despite attacks on Aramco facilities by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The company is a major source of revenue for the Saudi government as it invests in projects aimed at diversifying its economy.