At a business gathering in Riyadh this year, the Saudi gas minister paused at around 9 o’clock and informed the crowd that Amin Nasser, the president of state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco, had to go to bed.
He wasn’t saying that lightly.
In his four decades of work, Nasser has developed a reputation for a level of dedication that indicates he will spend the early hours of the morning getting prepared for the difficulties of the day ahead.
Knowing the etiquette and all of these things was somewhat embarrassing, but it just goes to demonstrate Nasser’s work ethic and everything else he does to stand out, a person in the industry who spoke on the condition of anonymity said.
The second quarter profit for Aramco soared by 90 percent, above analyst estimates, because of rising oil prices, sales volumes, and refining margins.
Despite negative economic constraints on short-term global estimates, the business anticipates that oil demand will expand for the remainder of the decade, according to Nasser in Aramco’s financial report.
The world’s most lucrative firm is a tie between the Saudi oil giant and Apple Inc (AAPL.O). It briefly took over first place in May, spurred by a spike in oil prices to 14-year highs following fears about energy supply following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
While managing a corporation with 70,000 people daily, Nasser has also tackled the issues around how to fulfill the world’s energy needs and has grown more vocal about the subject.
Aramco has justified the extended use of fossil energy during the switch to cleaner energy, similar to other large oil companies.
Nasser, who is typically reserved and polite, deviated from tradition last December when he warned that cutting back on oil production may have major societal repercussions and that investment was needed to continue alongside the development of alternate sources.
Speaking at Houston’s World Petroleum Congress in Texas, Nasser disputed the notion that a global switch to greener fuels could happen almost instantly.
He reminded the delegates that he knows it will be difficult for some people to publicly acknowledge that oil and gas will play a crucial and substantial role during the changeover and beyond.
However, accepting this fact will be much easier than coping with energy instability, escalating inflation, and societal unrest when prices reach intolerably high levels and nations’ commitments to achieving net zero emissions begin to deteriorate.
As high energy costs and global inflation forced world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, to knock on Saudi Arabia’s door in quest of additional barrels, some saw their remarks made in the US oil heartland of Texas as prophetic.
Nevertheless, many others claim that there is an urgent need for investment in renewable as well as other domestic forms of energy because of the drought, record temperatures, and flooding that have raised the global alarm about any new growth of fossil fuels.
Due to Aramco’s aggressive intentions to increase output to 13 million barrels per day by 2027, Nasser is perceived as a threat to the environment in some quarters, according to Jim Krane, an energy research fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute as well as a renowned writer of the book Energy Kingdoms.
He is viewed as an innovator in Saudi circles who is willing to diversify Aramco’s lucrative business model by pursuing chemical and hydrogen ventures and decarbonizing the company’s operations.
Under Nasser, Aramco acquired Saudi Arabia’s largest petrochemical company Sabic as part of its downstream strategy, launched an IPO in 2019 with a record $29.4 billion valuation, and after decades of secrecy, published its first report on emissions.
In the West, the domestic technocrat was unheard of. He did not attend a top American university, unlike other Aramco CEOs, and instead rose through the ranks of the organisation after acquiring a Saudi education.
As a petroleum engineer, Nasser started his profession. He served as the company’s largest capital expenditure initiative in its integrated gas and oil portfolio as vice president of upstream before being named CEO in 2015.
