NEW DELHI: Saudi Aramco reshuffled its senior management and created a division focused on “portfolio optimization” as the world’s biggest oil producer adapts to low crude prices and seeks new ways to raise cash.
The Saudi state energy company appointed senior vice president Abdulaziz Al Gudaimi to lead a new team that will “assess existing assets” and boost access to “growth markets,” it said Sunday in a statement. He will report to the CEO Amin Nasser and start in his new role on September 13.
Aramco is adjusting to weaker energy prices as the Covid-19 pandemic hammers the global economy, with Brent crude having fallen 32% this year to around $45 a barrel. The company is slashing investment so it can fulfill its pledge to pay a dividend of $75 billion in 2020 even while piling on debt. Most of the payout goes to the government, which faces a major revenue squeeze.
