“We are… moving forward with our capacity expansion, and our long-term outlook remains unchanged,” president and CEO Amin H Nasser said in a statement.

The result was down from the US$39.5 billion reported in the same period in 2022 when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused oil prices to surge.

It is more than three-quarters of the US$40.5 billion in combined first-quarter profits reported by the five oil majors: BP and Shell in Britain, ExxonMobil and Chevron in the US, and TotalEnergies in France.

“The results reflect Aramco’s continued high reliability, focus on cost and our ability to react to market conditions as we generate strong cash flows and further strengthen the balance sheet,” Nasser said.

Aramco is the jewel of the Saudi economy and the main source of revenue for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious economic and social reform programme known as Vision 2030.

The firm reported record profits totalling US$161.1 billion last year, allowing the kingdom to notch up its first annual budget surplus in nearly a decade.