Aramco pays nearly $100bn in dividends as profits tumble

Payout by Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company likely to anger energy company campaigners

Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco has paid out dividends of nearly $100bn (77bn), despite the company's annual profits tumbling from the record earnings raked in the year before.

The group, in which the Saudi government owns a 82% stake, said in its annual accounts that dividends to shareholders increased by 30% to $97.8bn in 2023.