Week 20 in Review: New president positions, a renewed lexicon, and Aramcon Qiewi Wang is quite the fellow

Aramco created two new positions, and it filled them both with longtime leadership.

The creation of the positions of president for Upstream and Downstream will be effective July 1, replacing the previous positions of Upstream and Downstream executive vice presidents.

Here’s a quick look at that article and some of the other big stories this week.

Aramco announces new leadership positions and appointments

Aramco has appointed Nasir K. Al-Naimi as president of its Upstream business, and Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani as president of its Downstream business, both reporting along with Aramco’s executive vice presidents to the company’s president and CEO. 

The newly created positions and appointments, approved by the Board of Directors, will be effective from July 1, 2023 and will replace the previous Upstream and Downstream executive vice president positions, respectively. These appointments will help drive the company’s long-term strategy across its global portfolio and value chain. 

We expect this decision to help drive operational and financial performance, supporting our upstream capacity growth and our downstream expansion, together with our ambition to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions across wholly-owned operated assets by 2050.
— Amin Nasser

New lexicon puts stratigraphy on the map

Fifty-five years after its inception, the Kingdom’s stratigraphic lexicon is getting a makeover.

Aramco’s Exploration admin area recently presented an updated stratigraphic lexicon to management, and more than 400 professionals and officially launched a new Lexicon Interface. 

The lexicon, which is the result of a multiyear project led by our Surface Geology Division, can be thought of as an in-depth geoscientific dictionary that defines, names, and describes all of the rock layers — what geologists call stratigraphic units — within the Arabian Peninsula.

Because hydrocarbons form in, migrate through, and are eventually trapped within these rock layers, defining stratigraphy is fundamental to successful oil and gas exploration and production. 

Aramcon Qiwei Wang earns ‘fellow’ honor from global association

The Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) elected Qiwei Wang as a Fellow for his distinguished contributions in technology development and significant role in knowledge dissemination.

The Fellow Honor is only given to recipients who have made exemplary contributions to an entire body of technical or scientific knowledge in their field over a long career. The award is reserved only for those whose achievements and contributions have made a broad impact to the industry. 

Those awarded this honor go on to serve as leaders and advisors to the AMPP, assisting with mentoring new and upcoming talent and contributing to activities in their field, which contribute to societal progress. 

Wang, a research science consultant in our Research and Analytical Services Department (RASD), is no stranger to accolades. 

In 2021, Wang was awarded the NACE International Technical Achievement Award for his sustained and outstanding contributions in oil field scale management. It is an award reserved for those who have made impactful technical achievements in corrosion engineering and corrosion control. 

In 2022, he was appointed by Elsevier, one of the largest publishers specializing in scientific and technical content, as editor of the “Oil and Gas Chemistry Management” book series, to cover all major chemistry related issues and chemical solutions in the energy industry. This effort resulted in a 4-book volume series. 

YLAB Global Leaders Dialogue: Sheila O. Al-Rowaily

The second Global Leaders Dialogue panel discussion hosted by Aramco’s Young Leaders Advisory Board (YLAB) took place in Dhahran recently and featured an inspirational leader named among 2021’s top 25 most influential women in the global energy sector. 

Sheila O. Al-Rowaily, CEO of Aramco subsidiary Wisayah Global Investment Company, shared her thoughts and valuable insights with Aramco’s young professionals on many topics, including finance, leadership, and diversity and inclusion. 

Al-Rowaily, who was the first woman to join the Saudi Central Bank’s Board of Directors and serves on multiple other boards, highlighted the importance of recognizing conscious and unconscious bias among decision makers. It is necessary to remove this barrier and create equal opportunities for men and women, she said, and engage with different ways of thinking.

As a member of Aramco’s Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee, Al-Rowaily said: “Women were an untapped resource before Vision 2030. Today, we stand above that. We can clearly see the balance between men and women in the room.” 

Women have proven that they are willing and able to deliver.
— Sheila O. Al-Rowaily

Cricket tournament showcasing region’s best talent

An invitational tournament showcasing the best cricketing talent in the region has begun in Dhahran.

Organized by the Dhahran Cricket Association (DCA), 10 teams — six from the DCA and the other four from the wider Eastern Province Cricket Association — are competing over six weeks to be crowned champions. All games will be played at the Dhahran Cricket Ground.

The tournament, which runs through June 16, comes after Aramco’s sponsorship of cricket events such as the Indian Premier League and the World Test Championship Final in the U.K.

Dhahran boasts incredible cricketing facilities with a lush green field, electronic scoreboard, sight screens, and Zing stumps — which are used at the international level, and flash when hit by the ball.

Live scoring is also available for each match, so members can follow all the action on the field from their personal devices anywhere in the world.

There are two groups of five teams who all play each other once. The top two teams from both groups will then go into the semi-finals.