Khalid A. Al-Falih ( ar, خالد الفالح '; born 1960) is Minister of Investment of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

since 25 February 2020. He served as

Minister of Energy An energy minister is a position in many governments responsible for energy production and regulation, developing governmental energy policy, scientific research, and natural resources conservation. In some countries, environmental responsibilities ...

of Saudi Arabia and chairman of

Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ar, أرامكو السعودية '), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company) or simply Aramco, is a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran. , it is one of ...

. He also has previously served as the Saudi Arabian Health Minister and Aramco's

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Early life and education

Al-Falih was born in 1960 in

Dammam Dammam ( ar, الدمّام ') is the fifth-most populous city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina. It is the capital of the Eastern Province. With a total population of 1,252,523 as of 2020. The judicial and administrative ...

, Saudi Arabia, where he was also raised. He attended

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, graduating in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, and later pursued an MBA at the

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) ( ar, جامعة الملك فهد للبترول و المعادن, – short: ar, جامعة البترول ), after 1975 as the University of Petroleum and Minerals and initially as the ...

, which he completed in 1991.

Early years at Aramco: 1979–2008

Al-Falih joined

''(formerly, Aramco)'' in 1979. For over several years, he held positions of increasing responsibility and in 1992, he joined the Consulting Services Department (CSD). He supervised several technical units, mainly the Mechanical and Civil Systems Division and was named manager of CSD in January 1995. He was assigned as manager, Ras Tanura Refinery Maintenance Department in late 1995; and by 1998; manager, Business Analysis Department. In July 1999, Al-Falih became president of

Petron Corporation Petron Corporation is the largest oil refining and marketing company in the Philippines, supplying more than a third of the country's oil requirements. It operates a refinery in Limay, Bataan with a rated capacity of . From the refinery, Petro ...

, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and the

Philippine National Oil Company The Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) is an energy company created on November 9, 1973, as a government-owned and controlled corporation founded during President Ferdinand Marcos' era to supply oil to the Philippines. Since then, its char ...

. He returned to the Kingdom in September 2000 to serve as vice chairman on the Saudi Aramco Study Team for Upstream Gas Ventures, until his appointment as vice president of Gas Ventures Development and Coordination in May 2001. He played an instrumental role in the negotiations with the

international oil companies Big Oil is a name used to describe the world's six or seven largest publicly traded and investor-owned oil and gas companies, also known as supermajors. The term, particularly in the United States, emphasizes their economic power and influence ...

(IOCs) & other major

national oil companies A national oil company (NOC) is an oil and gas company fully or in the majority-owned by a national government. According to the World Bank, NOCs accounted for 75% global oil production and controlled 90% of proven oil reserves in 2010. Due to thei ...

(NOCs) in connection with the Kingdom's Natural Gas Initiative. Ultimately, four joint ventures, namely – South Rub' al-Khali Company (SRAK), Luksar Energy, Sino Saudi Gas & EniRepSa Gas were consummated between Saudi Aramco and various leading IOCs, Nocs and emerging oil companies. In October 2004, Al-Falih was appointed to the board of directors of Saudi Aramco. He also served as

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the South Rub' al-Khali joint venture between Shell,

Total Total may refer to: Mathematics * Total, the summation of a set of numbers * Total order, a partial order without incomparable pairs * Total relation, which may also mean ** connected relation (a binary relation in which any two elements are comp ...

and Saudi Aramco.

CEO of Saudi Aramco: 2009–2015

In Nov 2008, Abdallah S. Jum'ah, then president and CEO of Saudi Aramco, retired and Khalid A. Al-Falih, who was serving as Aramco's executive vice president of operations, was appointed as the new president and CEO of the company, effective 1 January 2009. As Saudi Aramco's CEO, Falih headed the ''Manifa project'', an oil field located in a bay along the coast of the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

. The project includes 27-man-made islands connected by 25 miles of causeways. Upon its launch, it produced 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources: 2016–2019

The global oil economy caused prices to fluctuate dramatically, from a peak of almost $108 in June 2014 to $26 per barrel in February 2016, the lowest point since 2003. In May 2016, Al-Falih was appointed Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, replacing outgoing

Ali al-Naimi Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi ( ar, علي بن إبراهيم النعيمي) (born 2 August 1935) is a Saudi Arabian politician who was the Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources from 1995 to 2016. Early life and education Naimi w ...

. The national plan Vision 2030 announced in April 2016 is designed to reduce the Kingdom's dependence on oil revenue, a new direction which affected the makeup of Saudi ministries. In the royal decree announcing the appointment of Al-Falih, the former Petroleum Ministry was renamed "Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources," incorporating also the Ministry of Electricity."Saudi Arabia names Khalid al-Falih energy minister to replace Naimi"
by Rania El Gamal & Reem Shamseddine, ''Reuters'', 7 May 2016 Al-Falih also holds the position of chairman of the board of directors of Aramco, whose CEO is

Amin H. Nasser Amin Hassan Nasser (Arabic: أمين حسن الناصر‎) is the President and CEO of the Saudi Arabian oil company (Saudi Aramco), the world’s largest oil producer. He was acting president and chief executive until September 2015, when he as ...

. The oil crash caused OPEC countries to react by diminishing production, the organization's first cut in eight years. Minister Al-Falih urged fellow OPEC member countries to stop exceeding their output targets, and met with Venezuelan and Kazakh counterparts in August 2017 in order to extend the deal of cutting production until March 2018, by at least three more months. On 8 September 2019, through a royal decree issued by King Salman, Al-Falih was relieved of his duties as the energy minister. He was replaced by Prince

Abdulaziz bin Salman Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, عبد العزيز بن سلمان آل سعود ''ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin Salman Al Suʿūd''; born 1960) is a Saudi royal and politician who has served as the Saudi Arabian minister of energy since September 2 ...

, the king's elder son, in the post.

Minister of Investment: 2020–present

On 25 February 2020, Al-Falih was appointed by a royal decree as Minister of Investment, a newly created ministry in Saudi Arabia.

Public life and board memberships

Al-Falih is active in many social programs. He has served as chairman of the

City Municipal Council. His board memberships in other community-focused organizations include the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, the Prince

Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (c. 5 January 1928 – 22 October 2011) (Arabic: سلطان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود ''Sulṭān ibn ʿAbdulʿazīz Āl Suʿūd''), called ''Sultan the Good'' (Arabic: سلطان الخير ''Sulṭa ...

Fund for Supporting Small Business Projects for Women, and the Eastern Province Society for the Handicapped. Al-Falih is a founding member of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and serves as a member of its

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

. He sits on the board of directors of the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council and previously served as a member of the JP Morgan International Council.

Personal life

Al-Falih currently resides in Dhahran. Al-Falih is married to Najah Al-Garawi"Khalid A. Al-Falih Chosen Outstanding International Alumnus"
, Texas A&M University, 2010; archived at issuu.

Achievements

Khalid Al-Falih was listed on the Forbes Most Powerful People for 2016. Forbes' annual ranking of The World's Most Powerful People identifies one person out of every 100 million whose actions mean the most. Khalid Al-Falih received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013 from Texas A & M University. Established in 1962, the Distinguished Alumnus Award is the highest honor bestowed upon a former student of Texas A&M University. Since its inception, 225 individuals have been recognized for their significant contributions to their professions, Texas A&M University and their local communities. Khalid Al-Falih received the Petroleum Executive of the Year Award 2016 from Energy Intelligence. The Petroleum Executive of the Year award is the international energy industry's most prestigious award given in recognition of outstanding leadership by an executive in the international energy industry.

Honors

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun: 2018

References

External links

Saudi AramcoU.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falih, Khalid A.

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.

1960 births Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals alumni Living people People from Dhahran Petroleum and mineral resources ministers of Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco Texas A&M University alumni