Al Falih has impressive track record in oil
New oil minister is a well-known advocate for higher education and has served on the board of King Abdullah university
Dubai: Khalid Al Falih, the Chairman of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources as of May 7, was born in 1960 in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
He was raised in Dammam, the largest city in the Eastern Province located a few miles from Aramco.
Al Falih joined Saudi Aramco in 1979 and gradually held positions of increasing responsibility, allowing him to join in 1992 the Consulting Services Department (CSD). He supervised several technical units, and was appointed Coordinator of Mechanical and Civil Systems Division in 1994 and Manager of CSD in January 1995.
He served as Manager of Ras Tanura Refinery Maintenance Department in late 1995, Ras Tanura Refinery Operations Department in 1997 and Manager of Business Analysis Department in 1998.
In July 1999, he became president of Petron Corporation, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and the Philippine National Oil Company. Upon his return to Saudi Arabia in September 2000, he served as Vice-Chairman of the Saudi Aramco Study Team for Gas Ventures, until his appointment as Vice-President of Gas Ventures Development and Coordination in May 2001.
He played an instrumental role in the negotiations with the international oil companies (IOCs) and other major national oil companies (NOCs) in connection with the Kingdom’s Natural Gas Initiative.
Four joint ventures, South Rub Al Khali Company (SRAK), Luksar Energy, Sino Saudi Gas and EniRepSa Gas, were consummated between Saudi Aramco and leading IOCs, NOCs and emerging oil companies.And from Bloomberg:
In early 2003, Al Falih headed a newly-formed administrative area, New Business Development and served as Exploration Vice-President since 2004 and Senior Vice-President of Gas Operations in August 2004.
When the company formed its New Business Development organisation in 2003, Al Falih was appointed as its first head. In that role, he led the development of world-scale refining and petrochemical integration projects with leading global chemical enterprises.
In October 2004, Al Falih was appointed to the Board of Directors of Saudi Aramco. He also served as chairman of the board of the South Rub Al Khali joint venture between Shell, Total and Saudi Aramco.
In November 2008, the then president and CEO of Saudi Aramco, Abdullah S. Jumah decided to retire and Khalid Al Falih, who was serving as an Executive Vice-President of Operations Business Centre for Aramco, was appointed as the new President and CEO of the company effective January 1, 2009....MORE
Mideast Stocks Rise as Saudi Overhaul Adds Credence to 2030 Plan
Saudi Arabian stocks advanced as investors judged the government shakeup that ushered in a new central banker and oil minister would help the kingdom reduce its dependence on crude. Gulf stocks rose the most in two weeks.
The Tadawul All Share Index added a second day, rising 1 percent to 6,725.37 at 1:03 p.m. local time, the highest level in almost a week. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman appointed deputy central bank governor Ahmed Alkholifey to head the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, and Saudi Aramco Chairman Khalid Al-Falih as oil minister. Bloomberg’s GCC 200 Index climbed 0.8 percent, poised to end the longest losing streak in almost two months.
“We’ve been hearing about Saudi Arabia wanting to diversify its economy away from oil since we were children, but this time it seems like they’re serious about it,” said Reda Gomaa, a Dubai-based money manager who helps oversee $1.5 billion at Mashreq Capital DIFC Ltd. “With Khalid Al-Falih as the new oil chairman, the country will probably take more advantage of its mineral resources,” and the new central bank chief may be the right person to help the kingdom sell its first international bonds, he said.
More than 50 royal decrees were issued on Saturday in the third major government overhaul since King Salman ascended the throne in January 2015. They come in the wake of Saudi Arabia launching its Vision 2030, a blueprint for diversifying the kingdom’s economy away from crude. As part of its plan, the world’s biggest oil exporter is relaxing rules for foreign investment into its stock exchange, will sell its first international bond sale and is studying initial public offerings for government-owned companies, including Saudi Aramco....MORE
