The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is seen to have taken a toll on most industries and notable amongst them is the oil and gas industry. The industry has been faced with challenges in both production, demand, supply and price changes in crude oil, natural gas and petroleum products. Operations in this sector is seen to have slowed down and income has reduced drastically.
However, the story is not the same for the Saudi Arabian Oil company Aramco as they announced to have recorded a net income of $6.6 billion in their second quarter of production compared to the $23.2 billion they made in the first quarter of production.
A release by the company, said that despite the global disruption and challenges facing the energy sector, it continued to deliver on its commitment to shareholders by declaring a dividend of $18.75 billion for the second quarter, compared to $13.4 billion for the second quarter of 2019.
The company’s free cash flow was $6.1 billion in the second quarter and $21.1 billion for the first half of 2020, respectively, compared to $20.6 billion and $38.0 billion for the same periods in 2019.
Moving on to operational activities, Aramco said despite the challenging marketing conditions, it continued its strong track record of reliable supply which led to them achieving 99.8% reliability in the delivery of crude oil and other products in the second quarter of the year.
Also, on upstream performance the company performed with a total production of 12.7 million barrels of oil per day equivalent in the second quarter and also achieved a historic highest single day crude oil production of 12.1 million barrels on April 2 2020.
As part of efforts to help fight Covid 19, the company said it has remained committed to the safety of its people, establishing protocols to monitor and limit its spread.
The Company said it has helped its people and communities around the world confront the virus through initiatives such as employee donation programs, medical support services and monetary contributions such as provision of equipment to hospitals, such as ventilators, high-efficiency air purifiers and personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare professionals.
It has also extended financial support to aid agencies around the world to help combat the spread of COVID-19. Aramco Overseas Company and Aramco’s regional affiliates also made donations of $6.7 million to organizations in the United States, Asia and Europe to support emergency workers and help protect vulnerable groups. This includes financial support to multiple food banks and to advance trials of treatments for COVID-19 patients.
In Saudi Arabia, they have contributed over $50 million to the Health Endowment Fund of the Ministry of Health to support efforts to combat COVID-19.
