Oil company Saudi Aramco made considerably less profit in 2020 than in the previous year. Profits plummeted by 44 percent to 41 billion euros, mainly due to the consequences of the corona crisis, Saudi Arabia reported. state-owned company Sunday.
Despite the profit drop, the oil giant pays out about 63 billion euros in dividends, mainly to the Saudi government.
The amount is a nice boost for the largest shareholder in the company. The Saudi government is facing a growing budget deficit after the effects of the coronavirus ravaged energy markets and shut down businesses across the kingdom last year.
Saudi Aramco also suffered a lot from the consequences of the virus in 2020. Due to the corona crisis, the demand for oil and with it the oil price fell sharply last year. The world’s largest oil company actually increased oil production at the beginning of the year, pushing it to its highest level ever on April 2. As a result, there was a lot of supply, while there was little demand for oil.
According to CEO Amin Nasser, demand for oil has been picking up since the end of last year after several countries lifted their lockdowns. “We see an improving demand in Asia and there are positive signs elsewhere in the world as well.”
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