On Sunday, Aramco, the national energy company of Saudi Arabia, reported a profit of US$48B for the second quarter of 2022. It is a staggering amount from the largest corporation by market cap in the world.
Like many oil companies, 2022 has been good for Aramco following the catastrophic circumstances caused by Covid-19. This two-year period reflects both the historic volatility of crude markets (going from a low of US$21 per barrel of Brent Crude in April 2020 to a high of US$120 in April 2022) and how integral the commodity still is to the world economy. The recent high prices have also made many Middle Eastern countries who are low cost and high volume producers, immensely wealthy. If the status quo continues it will likely mean changing power dynamics in the geopolitical sphere. Bulging with cash they have made investments worldwide, some wise some not so. Most high-profile but mere baubles for them has been in the area of sports including the takeover of Manchester City by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008; Qatar Sports Investments buying Paris Saint-Germain in 2011; the purchase of UK premier league side Newcastle United by a Saudi fund in 2020; and most recently the creation of the LIV Golf Tour with extravagant signing fees for players who defect from rival tours.