Saudi Aramco Appoints New Senior Vice President for Finance

Aramco
Aramco
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Saudi Aramco Appoints New Senior Vice President for Finance

Aramco
Aramco

Saudi Aramco has made new appointments during a meeting of its board of directors, sources told Bloomberg.

They said the board approved for Khalid al-Dabbagh to become senior vice president for finance, taking over from Abdallah al-Saadan, who is now chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu.

The board also appointed Motassim al-Maashouq to the post of president of treasury, the sources told Bloomberg.

However, it did not say if al-Maashouq will keep his post of vice president of IPO development in Aramco.

The appointed Aramco officials will take over their new positions starting September, the sources said.

The new appointments come at an important stage for Aramco, which said last month that it is looking to buy a stake in petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).

Aramco is weighing tapping the international bond market for the first time to finance the acquisition of SABIC, people familiar with the talks told Bloomberg in July.

The bond is likely to be combined with bank loans, it said.

The move into global capital markets could offer an alternative to an initial public offering, it added.

In another development, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Thursday that Saudi Arabia has a "firm and long-standing policy" that petroleum supplies are not influenced by political considerations.

"The current diplomatic crisis between Saudi Arabia and Canada will not, in any way, impact Saudi Aramco's relations with its customers in Canada," he said in a statement.

Canadian analysts have said that the country imports from Saudi Arabia 75,000-85,000 barrels of oil per day.



Oil Prices Stable on Monday as Data Offsets Surplus Concerns

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
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Oil Prices Stable on Monday as Data Offsets Surplus Concerns

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil prices stabilized on Monday after losses last week as lower-than-expected US inflation data offset investors' concerns about a supply surplus next year.

Brent crude futures were down by 38 cents, or 0.52%, to $72.56 a barrel by 1300 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 34 cents, or 0.49%, to $69.12 per barrel.

Oil prices rose in early trading after data on Friday that showed cooling US inflation helped alleviate investors' concerns after the Federal Reserve interest rate cut last week, IG markets analyst Tony Sycamore said, Reuters reported.

"I think the US Senate passing legislation to end the brief shutdown over the weekend has helped," he added.

But gains were reversed by a stronger US dollar, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo told Reuters.

"With the US dollar changing from weaker to stronger, oil prices have given up earlier gains," he said.

The dollar was hovering around two-year highs on Monday morning, after hitting that milestone on Friday.

Brent futures fell by around 2.1% last week, while WTI futures lost 2.6%, on concerns about global economic growth and oil demand after the US central bank signalled caution over further easing of monetary policy. Research from Asia's top refiner Sinopec pointing to China's oil consumption peaking in 2027 also weighed on prices.

Macquarie analysts projected a growing supply surplus for next year, which will hold Brent prices to an average of $70.50 a barrel, down from this year's average of $79.64, they said in a December report.

Concerns about European supply eased on reports the Druzhba pipeline, which sends Russian and Kazakh oil to Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany, has restarted after halting on Thursday due to technical problems at a Russian pumping station.

US President-elect Donald Trump on Friday urged the European Union to increase US oil and gas imports or face tariffs on the bloc's exports.

Trump also threatened to reassert US control over the Panama Canal on Sunday, accusing Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Central American passage and drawing a sharp rebuke from Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino.