As oil prices rise well beyond $90/B and near-term predictions of $100/B grow louder, oil firms are making huge profits. Over the past fortnight alone ExxonMobil has reported seven-year high profits for Q4, BP’s Q4 profits hit an eight-year peak, and other IOCs reported similar bumper earnings. The outlook for the current quarter is brighter still for IOC accounts.
For the largest oil firm of them all, Saudi Aramco, the outlook is slightly different. After a partial IPO in 2019 (MEES, 13 December 2019), some 1.7% of Aramco is listed on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul exchange, but it is key to remember that the state still owns 98.3% of the energy giant. And Riyadh stands to gain much more than any other shareholders should oil rise above $100/B. (CONTINUED - 631 WORDS)
