Aramco, BP Beat Expectations with Record Quarterly Profit of $42bn, £8bn

•NNPC signs healthcare deal with RPM

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Saudi Aramco’s continued its historic run yesterday , achieving a profit surge of 39 per cent in the third quarter of 2022 and surpassing the average forecasts.

Profits of the most profitable oil company in the world hit $42 billion after revenue soared 51 per cent during the period under review. Aramco said the results were primarily driven by higher crude oil prices and volumes sold.

The company stated that it was partly offset by a higher average effective royalty rate, due to stronger crude oil prices and increased sales volume, which resulted in an increase in production royalties.

“Aramco’s strong earnings and record free cash flow in the third quarter reinforce our proven ability to generate significant value through our low cost, lower-carbon intensity upstream production and strategically integrated upstream and downstream.

“While global crude oil prices during this period were affected by continued economic uncertainty, our long-term view is that oil demand will continue to grow for the rest of the decade given the world’s need for more affordable and reliable energy,” said Chief Executive, Amin Nasser.

Capital expenditure during the quarter grew from $7.6 billion to $9 billion as Aramco continued to invest and capture growth opportunities.

In terms of nine-month performance, Aramco outperformed with an 68 per cent profit surge from a year earlier.

During the quarter, Aramco produced 14.4 mmboed of hydrocarbons, demonstrating its efficient and reliable operations, as it continued its gas expansion strategy to meet growing domestic demand.

But the earnings went  down from the $48.4 billion reported within the second quarter,  however Saudi Aramco has now reported income of greater than $130 billion within the first nine months of the 12 months.

Oil costs have dropped from greater than $120 a barrel in June to about $90 a barrel as recession fears in Europe hit financial exercise, whereas gasoline costs have softened from report ranges earlier within the 12 months. However, costs for each commodities stay far above historic averages.

Meanwhile, British Petroleum (BP) has maintained profits through the September quarter and announced another $2.5bn (£2.17bn) in share buybacks.

The underlying replacement cost profit, BP’s preferred profit measure, was maintained at $8.2 billion for the quarter, only slightly behind the second quarter and almost triple the figure from a year ago.

This was also a third above analyst expectations, driven by the “exceptional” trading result in the gas business.

In a sign of the political pressure on the energy majors, the company specified it had paid an extra $800 million in tax due to the energy profits levy.

BP did report a slowdown in earnings from its refining business and a flat result for oil, given the lower price in the September quarter, but the gas and low carbon energy division saw its underlying profit double compared with the June quarter to $6.2 billion.

Chief financial officer Murray Auchincloss said there had been “quite a bit of demand destruction” in Europe within the gas market through the period, and that this had continued into October.

There has been some constraint on BP’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the US because of the continued outage of the Freeport terminal. This made the gas trading result “particularly impressive”, said RBC Capital Markets analyst Biraj Borkhataria.

Shareholders will see continued high levels of returns, although this quarter’s buyout programme of $2.5 billion is down $1 billion on the previous period. BP’s payout policy is 60 per cent of surplus cash flow going to buybacks, with a medium-term forecast of around $4 billion a year.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the ongoing Adipec 2022 in Abu Dhabi, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has signed a deal with Response Plus Medical (RPM) for health delivery to its staff and other stakeholders.

Announcing the deal on NNPC’s Twitter handle yesterday, the Group Chief Executive, Mallam Mele Kyari, stated that it was in line with its diversification moves.

“On the sidelines of the ongoing Adipec 2022 in Abu Dhabi, the NNPC Medical Services Ltd, a subsidiary of NNPC Limited and Response Plus Medical signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on improved healthcare delivery to staff and other stakeholders.

“ RPM, a subsidiary of Response Plus Holding PJSC, is one of the leading medical services providers in the UAE. GCEO, Kyari said the deal, which is in line with with NNPC Limited diversification efforts, will help improve healthcare delivery and halt medical tourism,” it stated.