MUST-READS

• Saudi deficit to rise after $40bn loss in Aramco oil dividends

  A projected 30 percent drop in Saudi Aramco’s oil dividends in 2025 is likely to force the government and state-owned Saudi Public Investment Fund to step up borrowing to fund infrastructure and other projects under the kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic and social strategy, analysts say. The world’s largest oil company intends to cut dividends to shareholders by $38.8 billion in 2025 compared to last year. This would leave the Saudi government and Saudi PIF – which between them own 97.5 percent of Aramco – facing a drop in revenue larger than the GDP of Zimbabwe. Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit is likely to increase as a result, analysts say, although the country should be able to maintain spending on infrastructure projects by tapping international debt markets.

• Aramco pays $21bn dividend despite 2024 profit slip

  Saudi Aramco will distribute a dividend of SAR80 billion ($21.4 billion) for the fourth quarter of 2024 despite full-year net profit falling 12 percent year on year to $106 billion. The company declared a base dividend of $21 billion for the fourth quarter, a 4 percent year-on-year increase, which will be paid in the first quarter of 2025. The performance-linked dividend was $0.2 billion, paid in the first quarter. The oil major expects total dividends to reach more than $85 billion in 2025. Cash flow from operating activities fell 5 percent to $136 billion in 2024 from $143 billion a year ago.

• Sonatrach and Saudi Aramco cut March LPG prices by 1-3%

  Saudi Aramco and Algeria's Sonatrach have cut March's official selling prices (OSPs) for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 0.9-3.2% from the previous month because of lower oil prices and weak global LPG demand, traders said on Monday. Aramco's March OSP for propane was cut by $20 to $615 a metric ton while butane prices were dropped by $20 to $605 a ton, the traders said. Propane and butane are types of LPG with different boiling points. LPG is used mainly as fuel for cars and heating as well as a feedstock for other petrochemicals.

• Aramco dividend vital to big-spending Saudi Arabia

  Saudi Aramco’s 2024 full-year results due this week are likely to again underline the importance of the world’s largest listed oil company to big-spending Saudi Arabia’s economic development plans. Aramco has said it expects to announce fourth-quarter dividends – payouts to the Saudi government are a core source of state revenue – of SAR116.5 billion ($31.1 billion), the same payout as the preceding three quarters. That would boost its total dividends for 2024 to SAR466 billion ($124.3 billion) and equate to 34 percent of the SAR1.37 trillion of state spending last year, according to AGBI calculations. The kingdom’s annual deficit was SAR115.6 billion. Aramco introduced an additional “performance-linked” dividend in 2023, which boosted payouts significantly; assuming fourth-quarter net profit is in line with that of the first nine months of 2024, Aramco’s dividend-to-profit ratio would be 110 percent. Or, put more simply, Aramco will pay more in dividends than it made in profit. Why the increased windfalls for deteriorating performance? The government, which owns 81.5 percent of Aramco, needs the money. Likewise, the state-owned Public Investment Fund, which also holds a 16 percent stake and is a lead protagonist in the country’s economic diversification programme.

• Wa’ed Ventures, Saudi Aramco’s venture arm, invests in Ori

  Ori, the UK’s leading provider of cloud infrastructure for AI, has secured a key strategic investment from Wa’ed Ventures, Saudi Aramco’s venture capital arm, as it eyes up explosive growth in the Middle East market over the coming 12 months. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed. The announcement comes hot on the heels of news that Ori was one of the UK’s first AI infrastructure companies to deploy Nvidia’s H200 chips as the startup positions itself as the go-to AI infrastructure provider of choice in the UK, Middle East, and globally. Ori is a UK-based startup that enables large-scale AI model training, inference, and deployment for large corporates, enterprises, and fast-growth AI scaleups through its cloud platform. Since launch in 2019, the business has rapidly scaled to a presence in over 20 locations, predominantly across North America and Europe.

• Saudi Aramco to acquire 25% stake in Unioil Petroleum Philippines
  Saudi Arabia's Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab has signed an agreement to acquire a 25% equity stake in Unioil Petroleum Philippines, the company said in a statement late on Wednesday. The company, however, did not disclose financial details of the transaction. Established in 1966, Unioil is a downstream fuels operator with a network of 165 retail stations and four storage terminals in the Philippines, the statement said. The deal follows Aramco's previous retail acquisitions in Chile and Pakistan. Aramco said the Unioil stake acquisition represents further progress in its strategic downstream expansion and growth of its global retail network. It added that the deal aims to capitalise on anticipated growth of the high-value fuels market in the Philippines, and it planned to extend its brand and retail offerings such as Valvoline-branded lubricants to select retail stations in the country.

• Saudi Aramco Joins The Open Group as Platinum Member

  The Open Group, the vendor-neutral technology standards organization, has today announced that Saudi Aramco has become its latest Platinum Member. In this capacity, Saudi Aramco will have the opportunity to expand its presence across The Open Group Forums, take a leadership position, and have representation on the Governing Board. Saudi Aramco first joined The Open Group in 2016 as a Member of the Open Process Automation™ Forum (OPAF). The company has since collaborated with industry leaders on an O-PAS™ Automation Test Bed, assessing and validating next-generation open and interoperable technologies. In 2020, Saudi Aramco also became a member of The Open Group OSDU® Forum, joining industry peers in developing transformational technology to support the world’s changing energy needs.

• Armada to deploy containerized Edge data centers in Saudi for Aramco

  The California-based company offers ruggedized and self-contained satellite-connected data center modules (in 3-rack 20ft and 6-rack 40ft models) known as Galleons that use SpaceX’s Starlink network, and an Edge device and computing management platform. It also offers Edge/AI applications. "The deployment of Galleons in Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with Aramco Digital and Microsoft, marks a significant milestone in advancing real-world AI through edge computing," said Dan Wright, co-founder and CEO of Armada. Armada has raised more than $100 million to date. Investors in the company include Microsoft, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, Shield Capital, 8090 Industries, Felicis, Contrary, Valor Equity Partners, Marlinspike, 137 Ventures, Koch Real Estate Investments, and 8VC.

• Saudi Oil Giant Aramco Buys Its First U.S. WTI Midland Crude Cargo

  The world’s biggest crude oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, bought this week its first cargo of U.S. WTI Midland, the crude grade which is now part of the dated Brent benchmark, S&P Global Commodity Insights told Reuters. The Saudi oil giant, which is also the world’s biggest oil company, bought the cargo in the Platts window from commodity trader Gunvor. This was Saudi Aramco’s first purchase of WTI crude in the window, Joel Hanley, global director of crude and fuel oil markets at S&P Global Commodity Insights, told Reuters. Aramco, which looks to expand its crude trading business, has already sold WTI. This occurred in February last year.

• Behind Saudi Aramco’s Pivot Toward Sustainable Manufacturing

  The soaring demand for lithium, which has tripled over the past five years and is expected to surge exponentially with the rise in EV production and renewable energy deployments, Aramco positions at the forefront of the critical minerals market. Through its partnership with Ma'aden, the largest mining company in the Middle East and North Africa, Aramco is not just participating but potentially leading the lithium supply chain development. By joining forces with Ma'aden, Aramco is significantly enhancing its capabilities in the lithium sector. This partnership merges Aramco's technological prowess and geological knowledge with Ma'aden's mining expertise, setting the stage for a robust lithium production base in Saudi Arabia.

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