The accelerating Saudi-driven global oil price war (MEES, 13 March) has weighed heavily on the kingdom’s state-led energy giant Saudi Aramco. The behemoth was floated in December 2019 with shares priced at SR32 ($8.53), valuing it at $1.7 trillion (MEES, 6 December 2019). But with oil prices crashing this week, Aramco’s share price has taken a hit that pledges to boost supplies to a record 12.3mn b/d (MEES, 13 March) have been unable to rectify.
Saudi Aramco’s share price closed the week at SR29 ($7.73) down 10% from their original levels. This values the firm at $1.55 trillion. Of course the only real injury to the Saudi government on this is pride – they already reaped the IPO windfall. But the Saudi citizens who were encouraged by the government to invest heavily in the IPO may be less sanguine. (CONTINUED - 145 WORDS)