Saudi Aramco expects to take advantage of the anticipated additional demand for oil to build up stockpiles after the end of the global energy crisis caused by the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to statements made by Ziad Al-Murshid, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, to Asharq Bloomberg.
The company's CEO said in an interview on Tuesday, after the company reported second-quarter profits that exceeded analysts' expectations, that oil demand is poised to rise due to the urgent need to replenish depleted inventories following the drawdown during the conflict. He added that the end of the crisis will lead to increased demand aimed at rebuilding those inventories, allowing Aramco to capitalize on this growing demand.
The advisor attributed the positive outlook to Aramco’s spare production capacity, as well as our solid financial position and our debt ratio, which is the lowest among our global oil peers, all of which put us in a strong position to respond to crisis conditions and take advantage of the strong demand expected.
The advisor's remarks came after Aramco announced on Tuesday that it had achieved net profits of 121.5 billion riyals during the second quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of 114.8 billion riyals compiled by Bloomberg. This represents a 41.9% jump in the company's profits compared to the same quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, revenues rose by 19% year-on-year to 450.8 billion riyals.
President and CEO Amin Nasser, in statements accompanying the second quarter results, estimated the volume of oil liquids lost by the market due to the crisis at 11 million barrels per day, with a loss of more than 100 million barrels for each week that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
But Nasser believed that opening the strait would not end the crisis quickly; even if navigation were to resume immediately, it could take about 18 months to replenish the depleted stocks, based on adding 2.1 million barrels per day.
Aramco's flexibility helped overcome the tensions
The executive vice president revealed that the world's largest energy company relied during the period of navigational disruptions in the Arabian Gulf on three routes to export oil from the Red Sea, including Bab al-Mandab, the Suez Canal and the Sumed pipeline.
The guide also noted that Aramco's reliance on a high percentage of local content contributed to accelerating repair work on facilities that were recently attacked.
Regarding the company’s finances, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer reported that Aramco achieved a return on investment of 22% for the 12 months ending June 30, the highest in the global oil sector, equivalent to about double the average return of its peers, which Aramco’s report refers to as the five major oil companies: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, Total, and BP.
The advisor also pointed out that Aramco's debt ratio decreased during the 12 months to 6.2% from 6.5%, despite the increase in cash distributions and the issuance of new debt instruments.
