Aramco Third Quarter Profit Up 35% Despite War Disruptions

Saudi state oil company Aramco reported on Tuesday a 34.5% increase in third-quarter net profit despite attacks on its facilities, mainly due to higher revenue and its exit from a joint venture.

The world's top oil exporter reported a net profit of $36.25 billion in the three months ended September 30 compared with $26.9 billion in the year-earlier period. Net profit was $32.7 billion in the second quarter.

Adjusted net income in the third quarter was about $31.2 billion, beating a median analyst consensus shared by Aramco from 12 analysts of $30.66 billion.

The US-Iran war has cut Aramco's output but higher oil prices have offset the reduced volumes.

Aramco has been exporting crude from its eastern terminals in the Gulf, its traditional outlet, as well as its western terminals in the Red Sea via the East-West pipeline, which CEO Amin Nasser has called a critical lifeline.

The pipeline, which ramped up flows after the war began when the US and Israel struck Iran in late February, has come under attack several times throughout the conflict.

Other Saudi energy infrastructure and Aramco's headquarters have also come under fire as fresh fighting erupted in the simmering war with Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis.

'Extraordinary Period'

Geopolitical uncertainty and attacks on key energy infrastructure have continued to amplify the global energy supply crisis, Nasser said in a statement, adding Aramco continued reliably delivering to its customers during the "extraordinary period".

The company is still exploring additional overseas storage capacity and alternative export routes, he added.

Supply reliability was 97.8% in the quarter, Aramco said, from 99.9% a year prior and 98.4% in the second quarter.

"This strong supply reliability was achieved despite some disruptions to the East-West Pipeline during the quarter as Aramco was able to quickly restore loadings in the western region using the pipeline's multiline configuration," Aramco said.

Saudi Arabia's oil output was about 8 million barrels per day (bpd) in September, according to secondary sources cited by OPEC in its most recent monthly report, from just over 10 million bpd before the war.

Aramco does not report its crude production volumes. Its total hydrocarbon production averaged 11.05 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the third quarter, the company said, compared with 13.3 million boepd a year prior. Total liquids production was 8.7 million bpd against 10.8 million bpd a year earlier.

The average realised crude oil price for the third quarter was $95.2 a barrel from $70.1 a year earlier and $108.1 in the second quarter.

Aramco declared a base dividend of $21.9 billion for the third quarter, in line with the previous two quarters and tracking the total payout expected for the year.

In September, Aramco completed the sale of its 50% equity interest in the PRefChem refining and petrochemical joint ventures in Malaysia to partner Petronas.

Aramco said its Jafurah unconventional gas project's second phase was due for completion next year and remained on track to reach 2 billion standard cubic feet per day of gas by 2030.

It also said production has begun at its Zuluf crude project, which is expected to process up to 600,000 bpd of oil by the end of 2026.

(Reuters - Reporting by Gulf newsroom; Editing by Stephen Coates and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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