Aramco changes top management, with new focus on portfolio

(Bloomberg) –

© Photographer: Bloomberg / Bloomberg
An employee walks past crude oil tanks at Juaymah Tank Farm in the Ras Tanura oil refinery and Saam Arinalco of Saam Aramco on Monday, October 1, 2018. Saudi Arabia is trying to transform its crude-dependent economy by developing new industries, and by printing in petrochemicals as a way to earn more from its energy deposits.

Saudi Aramco is stepping up its senior management, putting a top board in the lead for “portfolio optimization,” as the world’s largest oil producer adjusts to low crude prices.

Aramco has appointed senior vice president Abdulaziz Al Gudaimi to head the new department that will assess ‘existing assets’ and assess access to growth markets, it said in a statement. He previously ran the Aramco streaming department.

It also named Nasir Al Naimi as acting head of the upstream company – the reconnaissance and production arm – while Mohammed Al Qahtani will take over the downstream company, according to people familiar with the situation.

The moves come as Aramco adjusts to the reality of oil at $ 40 per barrel. It slams spending and investment to try to maintain a $ 75 billion dividend, even as its debt increases for past purposes set just last year. Most of the dividend goes to the Saudi state, which needs the funds because it pushes a large income.

Earlier this year, the company hired consultants to monitor a potential multi-billion dollar sale in its pipeline business, according to people familiar with the matter. And President Yasir Al-Rumayyan said in February that there were non-core assets that could be monetized.

In another potential sign of Aramco’s changing priorities as it seeks to retain cash, the company has lifted a $ 10 billion project to build a refinery in China, Bloomberg reported last week. The project was exposed to great fanfare last year, but low oil prices – driven by the impact of the coronavirus on demand – are forcing energy companies to reconsider.

Aramco did not comment on the nominations for the streaming and streaming companies. In the oil industry, the upstream company focuses on exploration and production, while the downstream company focuses on refining, chemicals and marketing. By far, the most profitable unit of Aramco is its streaming image.

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