Saudi Aramco has appointed Nasir Al-Naimi and Mohammed Al Qahtani as heads of upstream and downstream operations respectively, effective from 1 July, to support the oil giant’s growth plans. The newly created positions have been approved by the board. Both executives have already been running the business for years, with Al-Naimi serving as Executive Vice President of Upstream since April 2021 and Al-Qahtani as Executive Vice President of Upstream. The move is said to be aimed at enhancing Aramco’s position to support planned growth in these two business areas. However, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said that it is not a preparation for an initial public offering.
Aramco’s President and CEO, Amin Nasser, said the company expected the appointments to support the expansion of upstream and downstream capacities, improving its operational and financial performance. Saudi Arabia remains the largest shareholder in Aramco, holding 90.18% of the company. Aramco raised $25.6bn in its initial public offering in 2019 and went public on the Saudi Stock Exchange. Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that plans for a new public offering were accelerating, but Aramco declined to comment on the report. Hadir Al-Sayeg reported the appointments, which were edited by Himani Sarkar.
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