State-controlled Saudi Aramco said it sold more crude and refined products in the first quarter than in the same period last year, despite shipping disruption through the strait of Hormuz since late February.
The company did not disclose volumes but said higher sales, combined with firmer crude and product prices, lifted revenue to $115bn from $108bn a year earlier. Adjusted profit rose by 26pc year on year to $33.6bn, exceeding the $31.16bn median of analysts' forecasts.
The increased revenues came despite the US-Iran war causing severe disruption to Mideast Gulf oil flows through the strait of Hormuz during the final month of the quarter. The effective closure of the waterway has forced Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain to reduce exports of crude and products since the start of March, weighing on crude output.
Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and, to a large extent, Iraq have shut in the largest volumes of crude production relative to total output, reflecting their near total dependence on the strait to export oil. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have also shut in significant volumes, but to a lesser extent as a share of total production because both have pipelines that allow some exports to bypass the strait.
The 7mn b/d East-West pipeline, which runs from the Abqaiq oil processing complex in eastern Saudi Arabia to the Yanbu port on the Red Sea, has "reached its maximum capacity", Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said.
"Our East-West pipeline... has proven itself to be a critical supply artery, helping to mitigate the impact of an energy shock and providing relief to customers affected by shipping constraints in the strait of Hormuz," Nasser said.
Aramco did not disclose its oil and gas production for the quarter. Argus estimated Saudi crude output, including its share of production from the Saudi-Kuwaiti Neutral Zone, at 7mn b/d in March, down from 10.88mn b/d in February and 10.08mn b/d in January.
This puts average Saudi crude output for the quarter at 9.32mn b/d, down from 10.03mn b/d in the previous quarter but up from 8.93mn b/d in the first quarter of 2025.
The Saudi oil giant sold its crude at an average of $76.9/bl in the first quarter of 2026, marginally higher than $76.3/bl in the same three-month period in 2025.
Aramco's board declared a base dividend of $21.9bn for the first quarter, up by 3.5pc from the corresponding period in 2025. The dividend will be paid in the second quarter.
