Week 33 in Review: Bigger profits, excitement on the links, and a boon to Distribution

Aramco’s 2021 second quarter and first half year financial results reaped the benefits of an improving global economy and energy industry. Meanwhile, the company further expanded its support to small and medium enterprises with a signing with Medina beekeepers, streamlined and bolstered its distribution networks in the Kingdom’s West, and saw the crowning of several champions on the second leg of the Aramco Team Series, which concluded Sunday in Spain.

Aramco announces strong second quarter, half-year 2021 results

Aramco on Sunday announced its second quarter 2021 financial results, reporting a 288% increase in net income from the same quarter of last year to $25.5 billion, and declaring a dividend of $18.8 billion. The company’s net income for the first half of the year was $47.2 billion, representing a 103% increase over the same period in 2020.

The increase in both periods was primarily driven by higher crude oil prices, improved downstream margins and the consolidation of SABIC’s results, partially offset by lower crude oil volumes sold and higher crude oil production royalties.

Late evening hole decides second ‘Series’ tournament in Spain

With its sponsorship of the Aramco Team Series, which held the second of four tournaments in Sotogrande, Spain, this past weekend, the world is getting a closer look at Aramco’s dedication to providing equal opportunities for women, and promoting healthy lifestyles. 

In the team competition, Team Buhai and Team Strom both finished the normal round with 35-under-par, which forced a late evening deciding hole. Team Buhai, featuring South Africans Ashleigh Buhai and Stacy Lee Bregman, Hayley Davis of England, and Spanish amateur Ignacio Morillo, eventually won the match during the final hole. 

In the individual competition, Alison Lee of the U.S. beat Buhai by five strokes, at 15-under. It was Lee’s first professional title. 

Aramco’s Yanbu’ distribution hub project powers forward

Aramco employees and contractors have been busy in the Kingdom’s west, where they are building a distribution hub in Yanbu’, laying two 340-kilometer pipelines from the hub to Jiddah, and expanding the North Jiddah Bulk Plant.

The projects are part of the Yanbu’ Distribution Hub (YDH) program, which is managed by the Distribution and Terminal Projects Department, and were recently highlighted by Abdulkarim A. Al Ghamdi, vice president of Project Management, as excellent examples of safety, Saudization, local content, technology deployment, and best practice.

Medina agreement an expansion of Aramco’s support to Kingdom’s beekeepers

HRH Prince Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Medina Region, last week witnessed the signing of an agreement between Aramco and the Beekeepers Cooperative Society to launch the “Saudi Aramco Initiative to Support Low Income Beekeepers for Beekeeping and Development of its Products in the Medina Region.” 

Khalid K. Al Mulhim, Aramco executive director of Corporate Affairs, was also in attendance.

Al Mulhim highlighted the company’s decades-long support in the development of such ventures and the shared responsibility of being a good corporate citizen, something that continues to be important today through such activities as the agreement with the Medina beekeepers.

Commitment to aviation safety demonstrated by installation of EMAS

The Southern Area Community and Public Projects Division recently completed the Haradh/Hawiyah Roadway Improvements Project, which also included upgrading the existing airstrip to accommodate the largest fixed-wing aircraft in Aramco’s fleet, the Boeing 737-700. 

The project was able to install an aviation safety system called the Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS), which is the first of its kind in the Middle East and Northern African region.

The EMAS is an emergency system consisting of specially manufactured concrete blocks, installed at the end of the runway to bring the aircraft to a halt without overshooting the runway, in the event that an aircraft does not stop on its own before reaching the end. The EMAS is designed to accomplish this role while minimizing the potential for passenger injury and aircraft damage.