Saudi Aramco names new trading chief as it maintains production and drilling

State oil and gas major appoints former head of transaction development to new role as company pushes on with expansion drive.

Oil tanks at the Saudi Aramco headquarters at Damam city. The company has appointed a new head at its trading arm amid ongoing expansion. Ali Jarekji / Reuters

The state-run oil firm Saudi Aramco has named Ibrahim Al Buainain as chief executive of its trading arm, it said on Tuesday.

It said Mr Al Buainain started his new role this month.

Mr Al Buainain had held the position of head of transaction development at Saudi Aramco for less than a year, according to his Linkedin profile.

Prior to that, he was president of Aramco Asia.

Mr Al Buainain replaces Yasser Mufti, who was named the executive director of new business development in June.

The move comes after the Aramco chief executive said its oil and natural gas production and drilling activities are unaffected by crude prices at current levels, signalling that the world’s biggest oil exporter will continue to protect its market share.

Aramco will keep investing in oil projects for the long term, and its sales to buyers in east Asia are rising, said Amin Nasser at a signing ceremony for a gas-processing plant near the eastern city of Jubail. Aramco is still working on plans for an initial public offering and is studying whether to list shares on an overseas stock exchange as well as in Saudi Arabia, he said.

“We are not worried – the number of our customers in Asia is growing, and different customers see big value in doing business with Saudi Aramco,” Mr Nasser said. “Compared to the beginning of the year, oil prices are continuously improving.”

Saudi Arabia has been pumping at near-record levels to defend sales in Asia, its biggest market, amid an increase in global supply from high-cost producers including some US shale drillers. The kingdom led the In December Opec abandoned limits on output, and benchmark Brent crude tumbled to a 12-year low in January.

Brent futures have risen more than 70 per cent since then as a slowdown in US drilling and supply disruptions in Libya, Nigeria and Canada help balance the market.

The deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 30-year-old son of King Salman, is leading a shake-up of the Saudi economy that is to include the sale of up to 5 per cent of Aramco by 2018. The prince has said he expects the value of the company to exceed US$2 trillion as the nation prepares what could be the world’s largest IPO.

Mr Nasser made his remarks last week at a contract-signing ceremony for the Fadhili offshore gas plant. India’s Larsen & Toubro secured a contract to build the facility, which will process as much as 2.5 billion cubic feet per day after its completion by the end of 2019, Aramco said. Aramco’s total gas-processing capacity will reach 18 billion cu ft per day by 2020, Mr Nasser said, up from 12 billion last year.

Engie of France and Saudi Electricity were awarded a contract for a power plant at Fadhili. The entire Fadhili project will cost more than 50 billion Saudi riyals (Dh48.97bn), Mr Nasser said.

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