Nasser named Energy Executive of Year 2020

Saudi Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser has been named Energy Intelligence’s Energy Executive of the Year for 2020 by a selection committee of global energy industry executives. He received the peer-selected award and delivered a speech at the inaugural Energy Intelligence Forum 2020, which is being held virtually Oct. 13-15.

In an address given virtually from Dhahran, Nasser said the award is a demonstration of Aramco’s culture of team work and the result of hard work in meeting myriad challenges facing the industry, including addressing climate change and opportunities to reduce emissions, meeting global energy needs during a pandemic, and fueling the growth that brings prosperity. 

“I want to thank my peers and colleagues for this award,” Nasser said. “This award is actually a recognition of the entire Aramco family.

It’s not just for the men and women around the world whom I have the privilege of working with today, but also all the employees who came before and who built the foundations for what our company stands for today, and what it will become in the future. This is their award too.” 

“I am proud to be an Aramcon and enormously proud of my Aramco family and our achievements.”

pride in Aramco, its people, and its achievements

Nasser described a number of reasons why he feels pride in his company, its people, and its achievements, including its preparations for our IPO, its acquisition of SABIC, its restoration efforts after the attacks on Abqaiq and Khurais, and its reaction to the global COVID-19 pandemic both here and abroad. 

He also expressed pride in the role the energy industry plays on the global stage. “The energy industry continues to be the responsive and responsible motive force behind global economic activity as well as social development and progress,” Nasser said. 

“We are tackling issues related to carbon emissions and climate change from a proactive, leadership position, including through industrywide collaborations,” Nasser said. “We are harnessing technological advances and a spirit of innovation to usher in an even more reliable and more efficient energy sector. And in recent months, we have successfully overcome the operational challenges posed by COVID-19, continuing to provide vital energy and indispensable products while safeguarding our workforces and our communities.

“Make no mistake, my friends and colleagues: The decisions we make and the steps we take now will have an impact for many years, indeed, many decades to come,” Nasser added. “That is a great responsibility, and given the right resources, the right vision, the right spirit, and above all the right people, it is a responsibility I know our industry is capable of shouldering.”

tackling the industry’s tough topics

Participating in a discussion with Alex Schindelar, president of Energy Intelligence, Nasser covered a range of topics such as the future strategies of the company, energy transition, investment in technology and infrastructure, the expansion of trading activity and the downstream sector, and the effects of the pandemic.

The Energy Intelligence Forum provides a platform for decision makers, thought leaders, and innovators from the worlds of energy, finance, politics, and business to debate, discuss, and develop sustainable solutions to the energy challenges of the 21st century. 

This year, the forum examined the unprecedented impact of the pandemic on the energy industry and the continued search for new energy solutions, under the theme, “The Big Energy Reset: COVID, Climate, Consequences.” The event was conducted online.