Al-Saif Retires After Stellar Career
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Author: Saudi Aramco News
Released 16 January 2008
DHAHRAN, January 16, 2008 -- Senior vice president Abd Allah Saif Al-Saif retired Jan. 1 after almost a half century with Saudi Aramco.
“It is, indeed, hard to segregate his personality as an individual from his personality as an executive,” said president and CEO Abdallah S. Jum‘ah at a retirement celebration at Ghawar Hall. “The links that tie him to the company are integral parts of his life. I cannot even conceive him being away from Saudi Aramco.”
Abd Allah S. Al-Saif, left, is joined by Ali I. Al-Naimi and Abdallah S. Jum‘ah at a celebration of Al-Saif’s career. (Photo by Salah A. Al-Alwan)
The packed audience included Ali I. Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, top company executives, community dignitaries, family members and many others. They came to celebrate the work of a man who has been instrumental in helping make the company one of the most prestigious in the world.
Jum‘ah recalled Al-Saif’s most important contributions throughout a career that spanned more than 47 years. Those years were filled with hard work, creative vision and leadership qualities that served as the cornerstone of the company’s achievements, he said. His achievements were not limited to exploration and producing, but touched every business line and operation in the company.
In a televised narrative shown during the ceremony, Jum‘ah said, “I have known Abd Allah Al-Saif since the mid-‘80s, when I returned from my business assignment with SCECO. I came to know him better when he was the incumbent vice president of Marketing.”
Jum‘ah described him as a man with strong convictions who expressed them strongly when he was convinced it was for the good of the company.
When asked what he thought about retiring, Al-Saif said retirement is an extension of giving, but with a difference: A retiree moves from a structured work schedule to a more flexible one in which he chooses his own program and pace.
“He arranges his life and commitments as he chooses and sees fit,” he said. “Retirement is not the end of a career,” he added, “but rather a fresh beginning marked by much more freedom, enjoyment and hope — continuing to give on both the professional and social levels.”
Al-Saif bid farewell to Saudi Aramco in a speech that chronicled the most prominent events of his years, which, he said, “passed so fast as a result of job fulfillment and enjoyment.” He said he would continue to support professional societies, especially in earth sciences and petroleum engineering, while passing his expertise on to the next generation of professionals.
“Abd Allah Al-Saif is a rare breed among the people I worked with and was close to,” Al-Naimi said. “He is a role model of excellence, hard work, leadership and serious com-
mitment to the best interests of the company and his country. He was at the forefront of those who wholeheartedly embraced the concept of Saudi youth development.”
With Al-Saif’s retirement, Al-Naimi said, one page in the company’s history, that of the pioneers and founders, is turned. “They faced the struggles and challenges of a company in its metamorphosis stage.”
Of Al-Saif, he said, “If he proposed a fresh idea, he would follow up and stand for it until he was convinced that a better idea was being proposed. I wish him a happy life, longevity and success in his endeavors.”
First Days with Company
In an interview, Al-Saif talked about his first days in the company. “After completing intermediate school, I wanted to work and pursue my education, and Aramco was the ideal target and first choice, as some of my brothers were working for the company then.
“Since I already completed intermediate school and had some knowledge of English, I was immediately accepted to work in petroleum accounting. My initial task was to average the production rates of all Aramco products.
As vice president of Producing, Abd Allah S. Al-Saif throws out the first pitch at a softball game in Abqaiq in May 1984.
“Because my beginning was in Abqaiq, I became acquainted with many of the colleagues who were working there, including Dohan Al-Dohan, Daifallah Al-Utaibi, Ali Salih Al-Ghamidi, Ali Ahmad Saleh, Muhammad Zaynal Irani, Abd Allah Al-Ajmi, Muhammad Abu Bushayt and many others who attained high positions in the company. Most of them were also classmates at Abqaiq ITC and also were part of my study group to the USA.”
Al-Saif recalled his student days in the United States as fun, considering it was his first trip outside the Kingdom. He expected hardships of separation and of a different way of life. But working for Aramco and completing its schooling curriculum coupled with his knowledge of the English language, gave him insight into the American way of life. That made his transition easier, he said.
He said that his work in accounting had much to do with petroleum engineering activities, and his daily contact with petroleum engineers encouraged him to study that discipline.
Al-Saif has seen a lot of changes in his career. In the early days, exploration was done with primitive tools, he said. The focus then was only on large reservoirs. In recent years, exploration has looked at smaller and more difficult reservoirs at greater depths. The challenges have become more difficult and have forced the industry to search for more sophisticated techniques, such as seismic surveys and drilling techniques. Those advances have played a major role in recent oil and gas discoveries, he said.
Another major development has been Saudization, which he said had not been an easy task. It took a lot of effort to succeed. Early on, Aramco leaders’ and government officials’ interest in Saudization contributed to its success. It gained even more momentum after Saudis reached higher levels of management. “As a result, projects and operations are run today by Saudi nationals,” he said.
Al-Saif said the key to successful leadership is, “First, focusing all efforts and energies on the company’s mission and objective; second, paying full attention to developing and duly rewarding the employees so that they may attain their full potential; and lastly having full confidence in the employees and giving them the freedom to perform the work as it should be done.”
Well-Managed Resources
Al-Saif was asked about what had given Saudi Aramco its current high status among oil companies. He credited abundant and well-managed petroleum resources, and “the availability of outstanding, well-trained and highly dedicated human resources.”
Great responsibility can sometimes take a toll on a family. “The nature of my job as a petroleum engineer, particularly after my graduation, kept me away from home, especially during the period I was establishing my family,” Al-Saif said.
“I had to move several times in order to be close to my work. As a result, my first son’s early schooling was done in five different schools between Abqaiq, Dhahran and ‘Udhailiyah. All my family members accepted my long and constant absence, which helped me in performing my duties.” Al-Saif is married, with four sons and one daughter.
When asked about his early thoughts regarding his future, he said, “Ambition to advance has been with me from the beginning. However, after I graduated as a petroleum engineer, my ambition was to have an important role in the management of the petroleum resources. Thank God, I achieved this objective. In the process, I enjoyed what I did and what I achieved for myself, my colleagues, the company and the homeland.”
Among the values he found most important were discipline, thirst for knowledge and respect for others. He also valued and rewarded employees for their ability to develop and perform.
But it was not all work for the senior vice president. He is an avid reader, especially of political, religious and social books. “In addition to that, I am a fan of exercising,” he said. “I spend at least two hours a day, five days a week in different kinds of exercise. Thank God, I feel the direct benefit on my health and my outlook in life. I also enjoy traveling and getting acquainted with the various countries of the world.”
The life that would lead to leadership in a world-class company began in al-Sh’ara, a village in the Najd region, where Al-Saif was born in 1945. There, he completed his elementary schooling. He acquired his intermediate in Riyadh in early 1960. In July of the same year, he joined Aramco’s Petroleum Accounting Division in Abqaiq and immediately enrolled in company schools, where classes were offered in two sessions, the first during formal working hours and the second after hours.
He finished his studies there and was granted a company-sponsored college scholarship. He earned his bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from Oklahoma University in 1970. Al-Saif was the first Aramco-sponsored student to graduate in that specialty.
After returning to the Kingdom, he started his assignment as a petroleum engineer at a time when the company was gearing up to increase its production capacity from about 3 million barrels per day (bpd) in the late 1970s to 10 million bpd by the end of the decade.
Master Gas System
Al-Saif continued to work as a petroleum engineer for five years, followed by various managerial assignments in the vast operating areas and in petroleum engineering. That period also saw the completion of one of the company’s greatest projects, the Master Gas System. The project was built to gather associated gas, rather than flare it, for use in petroleum industries in Jubail and Yanbu‘.
In 1982, he was appointed vice president of Producing Operations. In the early 1980s, depressed global demand for oil resulted in reduced associated-gas production. In order to meet the petrochemical industry’s demand for gas, the company started to expand the nonassociated gas processing facilities in Shedgum and ‘Uthmaniyah gas plants. Those projects were completed in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Those years coincided with the appointment of Al-Saif as vice president of Planning and Marketing. He spent a short time in that assignment until, in 1992, he was appointed senior vice president of Exploration and Producing. It was about the same time that demand for crude oil started to substantially grow. Saudi Aramco responded to the demand in the 1990s by increasing production from Hawiyah, Haradh and Shaybah fields.
At the turn of this century, work began on implementing the Kingdom’s oil and gas strategy. On the oil front, planning and construction proceeded for new facilities in Qatif, Haradh, Khursaniya and Manifa, coupled with the increasing Shaybah production capacity. On top of that came construction in Khurais as the biggest crude increment in the world.
As for gas production, the company started the expansion of its Master Gas System with new nonassociated gas plants in Hawiyah, Haradh and Khursaniya.
As these mega-projects grew, so did efforts from exploration, petroleum engineering, drilling and operations to increase the maximum sustained production capacity to 12 million bpd by the end of 2009 and about 10 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day (scfd) by late 2011. Al-Saif was one of many who are proud of having participated in these mega-projects, especially as his duties covered producing, exploration and petroleum engineering. He also had the distinct honor of being at the head of the teams in charge of the planning and execution of these enormous projects.
Achievements and Challenges
The projects demanded diligent work and meticulous and precise planning. They also required the training of a Saudi work force to manage, operate and maintain the new facilities. All the projects were completed according to plan.
A guest checks out the scroll that depicts highlights of Abd Allah S. Al-Saif’s career.
(Photo by Salah A. Al-Alwan)
In 1998, Al-Saif was elected to the company's Board of Directors. He also served on many management committees. He completed a number of executive management programs and participated in a large number of international energy conferences. He also is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Al-Saif said his career has been filled with great achievements and challenges. He started his employment in Abqaiq when the company was owned by international oil companies and managed by expatriates. It produced about 2 million bpd of oil and flared most of its associated gas.
He retires from a company that is 100 percent owned by the government of Saudi Arabia, with production capacity of more than 10 million bpd of oil, and 9 billion scfd of gas. It is managed by a highly qualified and skilled national work force.
Abd Allah S. Al-Saif said he is proud to have played, along with others, a significant and influential role in these momentous changes.
(Reported by Fayiz Al-Bishi)