Saudi Aramco Base Oil, also known as Luberef, saw profit fall in the third quarter of the year as higher feedstock costs and lower base oils prices outweighed higher sales volumes.The refiner’s operating profit came to 355.58mn Saudi Riyals ($95mn) in the three months to end-September.Profit fell by 38pc from SAR570.03mn during the same period a year ago and by 26pc from the second quarter.Profit dipped as sales fell and costs rose.Costs rose by 5pc from the previous quarter in the face of higher feedstock costs.Crude oil prices rose by more than 10pc in the third quarter from the previous three months.Luberef’s sales of SAR2.55bn in the third quarter fell by 2pc from the previous three months and by 6pc from year-earlier levels.Sales fell as lower base oils prices outweighed a 15pc rise in sales volumes to 321,000t from year-earlier levels.Asia Group II prices fell by 5pc in the third quarter from the previous three months and by more than 20pc from year-earlier levels, ICIS data showed.With costs rising and sales falling, Luberef’s operating profit of 13.9pc in the third quarter fell from more than 18pc in the previous three months to the lowest since end-2021..Luberef’s Q2 base oils profit falls .Saudi Arabia’s Sept Yanbu/Jeddah exports fall
