[caption id="attachment_92878" align="alignleft" width="207"] Khalid A. Al-Falih[/caption]LONDON — Energy Intelligence announced that Khalid A. Al-Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Aramco, has been named Energy Intelligence Petroleum Executive of the Year for 2016. He was chosen for the award by a group of top global oil industry executives, and he is the 20th winner of this highly regarded, peer-selected honor. The award will be presented to Al-Falih on Oct. 18 at an honorary dinner during the 37th Annual Oil & Money Conference in London. "The selection of H.E. Khalid A. Al-Falih by his peers is a reflection of his strong leadership of Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, during a period of dynamic growth and severe challenges to the international petroleum industry," said Thomas Wallin, Editor-in-Chief of Energy Intelligence, which administers the annual award. Al-Falih was appointed Chairman of the Board of Saudi Aramco in May 2015. He also was appointed to be the Minister of Health for Saudi Arabia at the same time. He joined the company in 1979, and has held a number of positions of increasing responsibility including Executive Vice President of Operations and Chief Executive Officer and President from Jan. 1, 2009 until May 1, 2015. Al-Falih has led the expansion of Saudi Aramco's oil production capacity, the world's largest, through a number of upstream projects and also significantly increased its refining and petrochemical capabilities through a series of new world class facilities. In addition, the company has played a lead role in international petroleum markets as the world's largest exporter of crude oil with direct sales to all of the main world markets as well as supplying its own and international refining and marketing partnerships. Under his leadership, the company became a major natural gas producer as part of a strategy to reduce domestic use of liquid fuel for power generation and to drive economic growth and diversification. Al-Falih was also instrumental in Saudi Aramco's emergence as a leading innovator and creator of advanced technology through the establishment of a network of research centers, both in the kingdom and internationally, in partnership with world-renowned academic and industry research institutions. In the months leading up to the UN International Conference on Climate Change – COP21 Paris – Al-Falih played a leading role in the World Economic Forum-sponsored Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), an industry-driven initiative that sought to catalyze practical, meaningful and technology-enabled actions to address climate change. In September 2014, Al-Falih spoke on behalf of the industry at the UN-sponsored Climate Summit in New York, where he called for collaboration and the sharing of best practices and technical solutions to address climate change and sustainable energy. Al-Falih holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). He was chair of the World Economic Forum Oil & Gas Community and served on many boards, including KFUPM International Advisory Board; J.P. Morgan International Council; Asia Business Council; International Business Council of the World Economic Forum; MIT Presidential CEO Advisory Board; Royal Academy of Engineering (Fellow); and Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University Board of Trustees. He is currently serving on the board of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (founding member) and on the American University of Sharjah Board of Trustees.
