Saudi Arabia s largely state-owned energy firm revealed profits in the three months to June up 90% to $48 bn 40 bn, one of the largest quarterly profits in history to easily beat the near $26 bn it made a year ago.
The world's biggest oil company, 95% owned by the Saudi Arabian government, is the latest oil producer to benefit from soaring energy prices linked to the war in Ukraine.
It is thought to be one of the largest quarterly profits in history, considering one-off increases that tend to inflate company earnings, and is Aramco's highest since its shares were listed on Riyadh s stock market in December 2019.
Aramco said the results reflected increasing demand and the fact that its costs have remained low. Aramco has a relatively low cost of production, because most of its oil is sourced from easy-to- tap fields onshore or shallow waters, helping to boost profitability.
A $18.8 billion dividend is expected to be distributed by the end of October, which will lead to a windfall for the Saudi government.
The increase in demand comes as western governments try to wean themselves off Russian energy supplies in order to put more political and economic pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Nato allies have been trying to find other sources for energy, creating more demand for oil from other suppliers, including Saudi Arabia.
The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, went as high as $120 a barrel in June, although prices fell near $98 on Friday.
Soaring demand for oil has resulted in phenomenal profits for a number of oil producers, including BP and Shell.
Shell made almost 10 billion dollars in profit between April and June, a record for the FTSE 100 firm. The profits of BP increased to almost 7 bn in the second quarter, prompting it to give billions of pounds to shareholders.
In many countries, including the UK, inflation has gone up as a result of rising energy prices, which has resulted in the creation of a controversial oil company's profits.
Aramco's president and chief executive, Amin Nasser, said that profits could continue to grow because of high demand, which could offset a possible dip over the next year as many industrial world economies, including the UK, are in a recession.
He believes that oil demand will continue to grow for the rest of the decade despite downward economic pressures on short-term global forecasts.