Saudi Arabia's national oil company reported a 33% jump in second-quarter profit as higher crude prices lifted earnings despite lower sales volumes amid disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, posted adjusted net income of $33.4 billion for the three months through June compared with $25.2 billion in the same period last year.
The increase was driven mainly by higher prices for crude oil and refined and chemical products, partly offset by lower volumes sold, higher operating costs and increased taxes. Aramco's upstream earnings rose primarily because of higher crude prices, while adjusted downstream earnings nearly doubled from a year earlier on stronger refining margins.
Aramco said it maintained business continuity during the disruption by relying on its East-West Pipeline, storage capacity and export terminals, allowing it to sustain production and exports. The company repositioned the Red Sea port of Yanbu as a strategic hub for western-region shipments.
The war between the U.S. and its allies and Iran entered its sixth month with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz still largely disrupted, though renewed diplomatic efforts have raised hopes of reopening the waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil passed. President Trump called off planned strikes against Iran over the weekend after Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf governments urged Washington to pursue negotiations. Oman and other regional mediators are pursuing proposals to reopen the strait and revive broader peace talks, though disagreements remain over shipping arrangements and Iran's nuclear program.
Saudi Arabia has kept crude exports flowing by sending more oil west across the kingdom through Aramco's East-West Pipeline to Yanbu, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. From Yanbu, tankers have carried crude south through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to Asian customers, while cargoes destined for Europe can move north through the Red Sea and onward through Egypt's Suez Canal or Sumed pipeline. The alternative network has helped Aramco maintain exports and limit the impact of the disruption in the Persian Gulf, although it can't fully replace the volumes normally shipped through Hormuz.
That workaround has increasingly come under threat as Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants step up attacks and threats against Saudi oil routes and commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Further disruption could force Aramco to send more cargoes through the Suez Canal or around the Cape of Good Hope, adding time and transportation costs.
Oil prices fell sharply Monday after President Trump's decision to hold off on further military action revived hopes of an agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
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