The world's biggest oil company Saudi Aramco has announced it made $161 billion in profits last year, a whopping figure for the corporation and its main shareholder, the Saudi government.
High oil prices and a production pact with Russia helped push Aramco's earnings up, particularly after global energy markets were rocked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Here's a closer look at what's behind Aramco's earnings and what it indicates.
Who are Aramco's biggest customers:
The company said it produced on average about 13.6 million barrels of oil per day in 2022. Its biggest customer is China, where demand for Saudi oil is expected to keep growing in the coming years, though sluggish demand by the end of last year helped bring down high oil prices somewhat. Among the big deals Aramco embarked on last year was an investment in the development of a major integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in northeast China.
Aramco, which only trades a sliver of its shares on the Saudi stock exchange, said it would increase the dividend it pays out to its shareholders by 4%, to $19.5 billion. The company's biggest shareholder is the Saudi government.
Saudi Arabia's ambitious projects are powered by oil revenue
Saudi Arabia is trying to move away from reliance on oil exports by building up new sources of revenue from sectors such as mining and tourism. Despite these diversification efforts, oil exports continue to underpin the kingdom's economic growth.
What that means for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed is that when oil prices are high, Aramco earnings are too. And that means more money can be funneled into the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund spearheaded by the crown prince.