2023 Results
Aramco 2023 Results: Our operational and financial success in more detail
Chief executive officer and chief financial officer discuss past year’s performance.
Speaking with international analysts last week, Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser and executive vice president and CFO Ziad Al-Murshed outlined the company’s operational and financial success in 2023.
“Aramco had a strong performance in 2023, both operationally and financially. We continued to deliver on our strategy by growing our existing core business, as well as expanding into new geographies and working to develop new businesses,” Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser told global analysts on the 2023 full-year results earnings call.
During the year, we continued to strengthen our upstream positions, delivering some of the most advantaged projects in the world to further build on our already low-cost and lower upstream carbon intensity strengths.
— Amin Nasser
“Earlier this year we received a Government directive to maintain our crude oil Maximum Sustainable Capacity (MSC) at 12 million barrels per day. This still supports delivery of our key projects under construction and deferring those which have not been commissioned,” he added.
Nasser also cited the company’s progress on increasing its gas production to more than 60% by 2030, from 2021 levels. “This will help meet the in-Kingdom demand for gas which continues to rise and avail additional liquids for export,” Nasser said.
Regarding Downstream, Nasser noted that in 2023, about half of “our upstream production was delivered to our own Downstream operations, capturing greater integration value, and providing more visibility for our crude. These volumes will continue to grow with the implementation of low equity, high offtake agreements such as those in China.”
In terms of shareholder returns, Nasser explained that in 2023, “Our focus on maximizing long-term shareholder returns remained firm as we worked to create and capture additional value from our operations.
“We continued with the implementation of the largest capital investments program in our company’s history, increasing capital investments by 28% compared with 2022,” he added.
Energy transition
“We believe the same unique combination of resources, know-how, and infrastructure that underpins our advantage in conventional energy can enable us to be a leader in the global energy transition,” Nasser stated.
Nasser also emphasized the company’s investments in renewable energy. “We are investing in some of the largest solar PV plants in the world here in Saudi Arabia through the Public Investment Fund’s renewables program.
“Solar is expected to be a key electricity source in the Kingdom, where conditions are very favorable with the availability of abundant, flat, vacant land at a very affordable cost, and strong solar intensity,” he added.
“Leveraging the Kingdom’s advantaged geology, we are investing in carbon capture, which will also support our blue hydrogen supply chain. And in hydrogen, we are leveraging our growing, low-cost, gas production and strong ammonia positions.”
Finance
Al-Murshed gave a more detailed break-down of Aramco’s financial performance in 2023.
“During the year, Upstream Earnings before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) was robust at $230.3 billion, despite 17% lower realized oil prices and 7% lower liquids production volumes,” he said. “Downstream EBIT was $5.6 billion, mainly due to lower refining and chemicals margins, and inventory valuation movements.”
Other financial indicators were also impressive.
“Our Return on Average Capital Employed of 22.5% stands out among industry players, especially during a period of record capital investments, where we have significant capital investments that are under construction, thereby increasing capital employed, but are not yet operational to generate returns.”
Al-Murshed continued. “In 2023, capital investment, including external investment, was about $50 billion, which was in the middle of our guidance range, and our projects are pretty much on track. This was an increase of 28% from 2022, and we expect to continue to increase our capital investment program this year, with the capex guidance of $48 billion to $58 billion, including external investments.”
“We expect about $40 billion would be reduced over five years from our capital investment program as a result of the MSC directive … capital investments will continue to grow until around the middle of the decade ... This growth in capital investments is directed mainly to Upstream liquids and gas, Downstream liquids-to-chemicals, and new energies.”
Read about Aramco’s results and performance in more details here at www.aramco.com/investors.
