"Aramco's net income was $21.7 billion for the first quarter, a 30% increase from $16.7 billion in Q1 2020, primarily driven by a stronger oil market and higher refining and chemicals margins, partly offset by lower production", the company said in a statement.
The company also declared a dividend of 18.8 billion for the first quarter, which will be paid in the second one.
An Asian worker covers his face to protect it from the dust and the blazing sun at the site of Saudi Aramco's (the national oil company) Al-Khurais central oil processing facility under construction in the Saudi Arabian desert, 160 kms east of the capital Riyadh, on June 23, 2008
© AFP 2023 / MARWAN NAAMANI
"Aramco demonstrated reliable upstream performance with an average total hydrocarbon production of 11.5 million barrels per day of oil equivalent in the first quarter of 2021, including 8.6 million barrels per day of crude oil", the statement added.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a slowing of the global economy, limiting the need for energy resources.
