A key pipeline that connects its oil fields in the east to Yanbu port ‘has proven itself to be a critical supply artery’
Published Sun, May 10, 2026 · 02:26 PM
SAUDI Aramco reported first-quarter profit that surpassed analysts’ expectations following a war-induced rise in prices of oil and refined fuels.
Adjusted net income rose 26 per cent to almost 126 billion riyals (US$33.6 billion) in the quarter compared with 2025, according to a statement Sunday (May 10). That beat analysts’ profit expectations of 109 billion riyals.
The earnings reflect an increase in oil prices in March – when global benchmark Brent rose more than 43 per cent – as Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz following US and Israeli attacks. Saudi Arabia, which was ramping up exports before the war started, quickly redirected some shipments to an alternative port on the Red Sea within days of the conflict starting.
Oil prices have risen to four-year highs in recent weeks and have stayed near US$100 a barrel as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz continue to deepen what the International Energy Agency described as the biggest supply disruption in history. Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf nations such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq have also been forced to cut production because of attacks on fields and storage space filling up.
Aramco said it benefited from higher prices of crude oil, refined fuels and chemical products during the quarter, according to a stock exchange filing. The volumes of crude sold was higher compared to 2025 but declined on a quarter-on-quarter basis, it said, without providing more information. The company is scheduled to hold an analyst call on Monday.
Saudi oil shipments through the East-West pipeline that connects its oil fields in the east to the port of Yanbu in the west reached 7 million barrel-a-day capacity during the quarter, chief executive officer Amin Nasser said in the statement. Crude exports had reached 5 million barrels a day by the end of March, according to a person familiar with the matter, bringing the kingdom’s overseas shipments to about 70 per cent of prewar levels.
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The pipeline “has proven itself to be a critical supply artery,” Nasser said. The link has been key in “helping to mitigate the impact of a global energy shock and providing relief to customers affected by shipping constraints in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Aramco’s trading unit is also among firms that have been sending some crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days on ships that mostly have their transponders turned off to avoid detection, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company said it sold crude oil at US$76.90 a barrel during the first quarter, compared with US$64.10 in the quarter ended Dec 31, 2025, and US$76.30 a year earlier. BLOOMBERG
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