Saudi Arabia’s oil giant, Aramco, has reported a 4.6% decline in its first-quarter profits, weighed down by falling global oil prices, which have pressurised the country’s ambitious multi-trillion-dollar development plans.The company posted $26 billion in net profit for the quarter ending March against the $27.2 billion earned during the same period last year. However, the company’s revenue stood at $108.1 billion, marginally higher than last year’s $107.2 billion.“Global trade dynamics affected energy markets in the first quarter of 2025, with economic uncertainty impacting oil prices,” Aramco president and CEO Amin H Nasser said.The results were released in a stock exchange filing on Riyadh’s Tadawul market on Sunday.Aramco’s shares were trading above $6 on Thursday, down from about $8 last year, following a steady decline over the past year as oil prices have fallen. Only a small portion of Aramco is traded on the Tadawul stock exchange, while most of the company is owned by the Saudi government, which uses the profits to fund national spending and support the Al Saud royal family’s wealth.Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., is the world’s sixth most valuable company with a market worth over $1.6 trillion and is regarded as a key player in shaping global oil market trends.The results come as OPEC+ plans to increase oil production by 411,000 barrels per day next month, as the middle eastern economy continues to be rippled by US tariffs uncertainties. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Slaman, Saudi de facto ruler, has also planned to invest $500 billion to build Neom, a vast futuristic city in the desert along the Red Sea. The kingdom will also be requiring new infrastructure worth billions of dollars by 2034, as the country is set to host the World Cup. As a result, Saudi may be forced to tap into its reserves or take on new debt to fund these development plans.Oil markets have softened in recent months, with benchmark Brent crude trading just above $63 a barrel on Friday, a sharp fall from over $80 at its peak last year.
