Aramco names upstream, downstream leadership under new titles

Saudi Aramco has appointed Nasir K. Al-Naimi as president of its upstream business, and Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani as president of its downstream business.

The newly created positions and appointments, approved by the board of directors in support of the company’s growth plans, will be effective July 1, the company said in a release May 18.

Both Al-Naimi and Al Qahtani have been leading the upstream and downstream businesses, respectively. Al-Naimi has held the position of upstream executive vice-president since Apr. 1, 2021, while Al Qahtani has served as Aramco’s downstream executive vice-president since Sept. 13, 2020. The new positions replace the executive vice-president positions.

Both positions will report to Saudi Aramco president and chief executive officer Amin Nasser.

Commenting May 9 on the company’s growth strategy as part of its first-quarter 2023 financial and operations report, Nasser said the company made significant progress on the strategic expansion of its downstream business during the quarter with an acquisition in the US—earlier this year the operator completed a $2.65-billion acquisition of the Valvoline Inc. global products business—and investments and partnerships in China and South Korea (OGJ Online, Mar. 27, 2023; Dec. 13, 2022).

The company continues to leverage technologies to increase its liquids-to-chemicals capacity and meet anticipated demand for petrochemical products, he said.