Lower demand, oil prices weigh on Saudi Aramco’s Q2 2020: Nasser

Saudi Aramco’s Q2 2020 financial results were impacted by strong headwinds from reduced demand and lower oil prices, Amin Nasser, Aramco President & CEO, said.

However, Saudi Aramco delivered solid earnings, backed by its low production costs, unique scale, agile workforce, and unrivalled financial and operational strength.

This helped the world’s largest oil producer maintain a second quarter dividend of $18.75 billion to be paid in the third quarter.

“Despite COVID-19 bringing the world to a standstill, Aramco kept going. We have proven our financial resilience and operational reliability, setting a record in our business operations, while at the same time taking steps to ensure the health and safety of our people,” Nasser highlighted.

“We will continue to pursue our long-term growth and diversification strategy to capture unrealized and additional value from every hydrocarbon molecule we produce – driving global commerce and enhancing people’s lives,” he added.

The energy market is seeing a partial recovery as countries around the world take steps to ease restrictions and reboot their economies. Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco continues to place people’s safety first and has adapted to the new normal, implementing wide-ranging precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19 wherever it operates.

“We are determined to emerge from the pandemic stronger and will continue making progress on our long-term strategic journey, through ongoing investments in our business – which has one of the lowest upstream carbon footprints in the world,” Nasser concluded.

Saudi Aramco posted a 51% drop in net profit after Zakat and tax to SAR 87.1 billion for H1 2020, compared to SAR 175.9 billion in H1 2019, Argaam reported today.