Four takeaways as oil giant Saudi Aramco reports a huge $161 billion profit

Storage tanks are seen at the North Jiddah bulk plant, an Aramco oil facility, in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 21, 2021. Oil giant Saudi Aramco said Sunday, March 12, 2023, it earned a $161 billion profit last year, attributing its earnings to higher crude oil prices. (Amr Nabil/AP)

The world's biggest oil company Saudi Aramco has announced it made $161 billion in profits last year, a whopping figure for the corporation and its main shareholder, the Saudi government.

High oil prices and a production pact with Russia helped push Aramco's earnings up, particularly after global energy markets were rocked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.