Oil as a Weapon: How Aramco’s $27.3B Profit Funds Saudi Arabia’s Global Ambitions

Behind Aramco’s earnings report lies a geopolitical chess game: The 29.4 billion dividend is quietly financing Saudi Arabia′s expanding global influence, with (185.3B) funneled to defense and foreign policy initiatives in Q1 alone.

Funding Flows:

1. Military Expansion

   • $2.1B to SAMI for missile systems

   • Drone tech JV with China (Project Falcon)

2. Economic Statecraft

   • $1.7B for African infrastructure loans

   • $800M Pakistan bailout package

3. Great Power Balancing

   • Maintained $6B U.S. arms purchases

   • Secret oil discounts to China (-$2.50/bbl)

The New Oil Diplomacy:
“Every Aramco dividend check buys Saudi Arabia more geopolitical bandwidth,” said CSIS Middle East expert Jon Alterman. “They’re monetizing energy dominance into hard power.”

Controversies:

• U.S. lawmakers probe “oil-for-security” deals

• EU investigates African loan strings