Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, reported on Sunday net come of $39.5 billion for the first quarter of 2022, a jump of about 80 percent from the same period a year earlier, largely reflecting higher oil prices.Oil and natural gas prices have soared in recent months because of tight markets as conditions from the pandemic eased. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, sanctions have reduced Russian oil output and increased worries about potential shortages.Saudi Aramco is benefiting from the overall situation, reaping added profit as energy prices rise. Over the last year oil prices have nearly doubled, with Brent crude at $111 a barrel on Friday, up from about $60 in spring 2021.Unlike Western counterparts like Shell and Exxon Mobil, which face shareholder demands to address global warming, the Saudi company is almost entirely government owned and is under little pressure to reduce …
