Saudi oil behemoth Aramco, a longtime cash cow for the kingdom, has announced a $21.36 billion dividend payout for the first quarter of 2025, despite a 4.6 percent dip in net profits caused by lower crude prices and rising costs.
While the payout demonstrates Aramco’s resilience in volatile markets, it also casts a revealing spotlight on other national oil companies, including Nigeria’s state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), which has long struggled with transparency, profitability, and consistent remittances to the national treasury.
The world’s top oil exporter reported net profit of 97.54 billion riyals ($26.01 billion) in the Aramco confirmed total dividends of $21.36 billion for the first quarter, $219 million of which was performance-linked dividends, a mechanism introduced after a windfall from oil prices in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, the 2025 dividend is a sharp decline from 2024’s $124 billion total payout, driven by collapsing performance-linked dividends due to shrinking free cash flow, and reflects the broader challenges of an oil market now gripped by geopolitical tension and macroeconomic uncertainty.
Saudi Arabia, for decades, has relied on Aramco’s generous payouts, which also include royalties and taxes, to fuel its growth. Oil generated 62 percent of government revenue last year, and the International Monetary Fund has estimated Saudi Arabia needs oil at $92.3 this year to balance its budget.
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The results were released before U.S. President Donald Trump visited the kingdom on last Tuesday. His trade war with China has spooked global markets and sent crude prices tumbling amid fears of a global economic slowdown.
“Global trade dynamics affected energy markets in the first quarter of 2025, with economic uncertainty impacting oil prices,” Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco, said in a statement, adding Aramco’s results showed the value of its low-cost operations.
Global crude benchmark Brent has been on a largely downward trajectory since a 2025 high of $82.03 in January. It closed at $65.91 on Monday.
Nasser added, “Such periods also highlight the importance of disciplined capital planning and execution while we continue to take a long-term view. In volatile times, Aramco’s resilience underpins both our financial performance and our sustainable and progressive base dividend.”
Crucially, Saudi Aramco’s dividend declaration underscores the stark contrast with NNPC, Nigeria’s national oil company, which continues to face scrutiny over its financial operations and contribution to national revenues.
Since it transitioned to a limited liability company in 2022, the NNPC has promised to operate with greater commercial orientation and transparency. Yet, it remains dogged by poor cash flow, opaque subsidy regimes, and allegations of revenue diversion.
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NNPC’s transparency deficit
While Aramco remits tens of billions of dollars quarterly, Nigeria’s Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has frequently flagged NNPC for failure to remit oil earnings, often citing under-recovery from petroleum subsidies, pipeline vandalism, or theft as causes.
In stark contrast, Aramco’s model includes not only dividends but also royalty and tax structures that are both predictable and substantial in volume.
“The difference is not just in the numbers but in governance,” said Tunji Adebayo, an oil and gas analyst based in Lagos. “Aramco reports its earnings promptly, pays massive dividends, and funds the Saudi state. NNPC, on the other hand, often can’t even meet monthly obligations to the federation account without controversy.”
Analysts said Aramco’s ability to maintain such a high dividend payout—even amid global market uncertainty—is a benchmark many national oil companies aspire to but few can match. In Nigeria, where oil still accounts for the majority of foreign exchange and a substantial chunk of government revenue, the comparison highlights structural inefficiencies in the oil sector.
“Saudi Arabia has turned Aramco into a precision financial instrument for the state,” said Adedayo Olalekan, a petroleum policy expert. “If NNPC could become even half as transparent and profitable, Nigeria’s economic outlook would be transformed.”
The World Bank said revenue remitted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited dropped by N500 billion in 2024 despite a surge in gross revenues collected by Nigeria’s main revenue agencies in the year.
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In the latest World Bank Nigeria Development Update (NDU), published on May 12, the Bretton Woods organisation said NNPC’s remittance to the federation account dropped from N1.1 trillion in 2023 to N600 billion in 2024.
According to the World Bank, NNPC’s remittance performance in 2024 was due to “implicit petrol subsidy,” which was in place till September 2024.
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“Gross revenues collected by Nigeria’s main revenue agencies surged in 2024, despite minimal remittances from NNPCL,” the lender said.
“FAAC data show that gross revenues collected by the main revenue agencies (FIRS, NCS, NNPCL and NUPRC) rose significantly from N16.5 trillion (7 percent of GDP) in 2023 to N29.5 trillion (10.6 percent of GDP) in 2024.”
