Riyadh - (AFP) - Saudi Aramco announced on Tuesday that it achieved a 39 percent increase in its profits in the third quarter of 2022, compared to the same period last year, thanks to the rise in oil prices resulting from the continuing war in Ukraine.

The giant oil company's announcement comes with the OPEC+ cartel of oil exporters reducing oil production by two million barrels per day, in a decision that angered Washington, which it considered "aligning itself with Russia" in the war.

Aramco stated in a statement that "net income amounted to 159.12 billion riyals ($42.43 billion) for the third quarter of 2022, compared to 114.09 billion Saudi riyals ($30.43 billion) for the same quarter of 2021."

She indicated that "the increase in net income is mainly driven by the increase in crude oil prices and the quantities sold."

Saudi Aramco President and Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser praised the "strong profits and record free cash flow," which rose from $28.7 billion in the third quarter of last year to $45 billion in the third quarter of this year.

"With global crude oil prices affected during this period due to continued economic uncertainty, our long-term view is that demand for crude oil will continue to grow for the remainder of the current decade due to the world's need for more reliable and affordable energy," he said.

Aramco, the second largest global company in terms of value with about two trillion dollars after the American company Apple, is the main source of revenue for the Kingdom.

Ellen Wald, author of a book on the history of oil giant Saudi Aramco, said the company is well-positioned to benefit from higher energy prices, as it has "the lowest cost of production by a huge margin" compared to other oil companies.

The continuation of Aramco's huge revenues led to a distinguished economic year for Saudi Arabia, with financial surpluses that could help finance the ambitious plans of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify its oil-dependent economy.

And on Monday, Saudi Arabia announced that it achieved a growth in gross domestic product in the third quarter of this year of 8.6 percent on an annual basis, “driven by the growth of oil sector revenues,” according to rapid estimates revealed by the government’s General Authority for Statistics.
Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product is expected to grow by 7.6 percent in 2022, according to the International Monetary Fund.