"Aramco": Profit up 34.6% on higher oil prices and start of East-West pipeline expansion

Aramco announced a 34.6% rise in its third-quarter 2026 profit to $36.25 billion, driven by higher oil prices despite attacks on its facilities, and the start of the East-West pipeline expansion to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi oil company Aramco announced on Tuesday a 34.6% increase in its third-quarter 2026 profit, reaching 135.944 billion riyals ($36.25 billion), compared to 101 billion riyals ($26.9 billion) in the same period last year. The rise was driven by higher crude oil prices due to the Gulf war, despite continued attacks on energy facilities in the kingdom. The company announced the start of initial engineering work to expand the East-West pipeline, aiming to increase its capacity and bypass the Strait of Hormuz. The company's chairman and CEO, Amin Nasser, stated in a release that geopolitical uncertainty and attacks on key energy facilities have exacerbated the global energy supply crisis in the third quarter. Oil tankers, pipelines, storage facilities, and refineries have been targeted since the recent escalation with the Houthis in Yemen in July, which saw near-daily attacks on the kingdom. Two people were killed last month by falling debris after an interceptor shot down a drone targeting a facility at the Shaybah oil field in the Eastern Province.