Saudi Aramco’s posted a 23% drop in net profit in the third quarter to Sept. 30, down to US$32.6 billion due to the impact of lower crude oil prices and volumes sold. The third-quarter net profit result marked a steep decline from US$42.4 billion the same time last year.

Free cash flow for the company was slashed to US$20.3 billion, less than half of what it was in the third quarter of 2022 at US$45 billion. Aramco still upheld its dividend payout of US$29.4 billon to investors and the Saudi government. Of that amount, US$19.5 billion constitutes the base dividend payout, to be paid in the fourth quarter, and a further US$9.9 billion constitutes the performance-linked dividend.

The $9.9 billion distribution is “to be paid in Q4 based on combined full-year 2022 and nine-month 2023 results,” the company’s earnings release said. 

Capital expenditure increased to $11.02 billion for this quarter from $9.03 billion in the third quarter of last year. Aramco’s expansions include finalizing an agreement on its first international liquified natural gas (LNG) investment, and its “plan to enter South American market through a downstream retail acquisition,” the company said.

Amin H. Nasser, President and CEO, said: “Our robust financial results reinforce Aramco’s ability to generate consistent value for our shareholders, and we continue to identify new opportunities to evolve our business and meet the needs of customers.

“During the third quarter we agreed to make our first international investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG) to capitalize on rising LNG demand, and announced our intention to enter the South American retail market. These planned investments demonstrate the scale of our ambition, the broad scope of our activities, and the disciplined execution of our strategy. I am excited by the progress we are making, which I believe will complement both our Upstream capacity expansion and our growing Downstream presence.

“We intend to continue investing across the hydrocarbon chain, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to optimize our operations and advance the development of emerging energy solutions. It is an approach rooted in our belief that a balanced and realistic energy transition plan should consider the needs of all geographies, in order to avoid disparities between global energy consumers.”