Abdulla A. Al-Naim
Saudi Aramco started its new year without one of its most important pillars, Abdulla A. Al-Naim.
Al-Naim passed away Tuesday, Jan. 1, while working as part of a contingent of company leaders who were visiting the Tabuk region. He died of a heart attack in his sleep.
At the time of his death, Al-Naim was vice president of Exploration, and his career had seen him hold leadership responsibilities in several areas, including finding, delineating and helping to develop the enormous oil and gas reserves of the Kingdom and evaluating the Kingdom's vast hydrocarbons potential.
Known as much for his charismatic leadership style as for his expertise in the field of gas and oil exploration, Al-Naim was well regarded by those who worked with him and for him over the years. The young Al-Naim began working for the company in 1978 as a well site geologist, feeding a long-standing interest in new developments in the field of petroleum geology that he carried throughout his career with the company.
Still, despite his fascination with the technical aspects of his many jobs at Saudi Aramco over the years, he showed as strong of an interest in those who worked around him. Al- Naim was widely known from creating deep bonds of friendship with fellow Aramcons that carried through the decades.
"Abdulla wouldn't be shy to say 'I love you' to his employees. In fact, he repeatedly said it in many public gatherings," said Misfir AzZahrani, acting manager of Prospect Portfolio and Development. "Many leaders would probably find it uneasy to say 'I love you' to his work team, but it wasn't difficult at all for Abdulla."
AzZahrani added that Al-Naim used to refer to people in the organization as his extended family, which created a unique relationship in the organization.
"The chances of working with and knowing someone of Abdulla's caliber only comes along once in a lifetime, if we are lucky, and I feel I can speak for my colleagues in that we were blessed to have been part of his team," said Barbara Sullivan of the Exploration Planning and Support staff.
Martin Dickens, who worked with Al-Naim for more than 20 years, said his former co-worker's greatest asset as a leader was being a great listener and decision-maker, respecting his staff for their input. And that just scratched the surface, he added.
"We have lost a person with outstanding technical skills. He was like an encyclopedia of the Kingdom's geology," Dickens said.
Al-Naim was deeply committed to the company's efforts in the field of Exploration, and his work with Saudi Aramco was marked with many successes and accomplishments. Al- Naim, who held a bachelor's degree in geology from King Saud University in Riyadh, first acquired a deep understanding of petroleum geology during technical assignments with the Exploitation Division and, in later stints, as manager of the Area Exploration Division, Exploration Operations Department and the Reservoir Characterization Department.
He was assigned as executive director of Exploration in November 2004 and then was appointed as vice president in April 2006. He held the position of acting vice president of Petroleum Engineering and Development in 2008 and 2009 and was responsible for the management and development of all Saudi Aramco oil and gas fields.
Al-Naim spent most of his time in the field supporting the company's business of petroleum discoveries, tapping his expertise and experience gained through membership and leadership with a number of associations and organizations concerned with the field of petroleum geology.
Al-Naim was a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) since 1986, received the International Special Commendation Award in 1999 and was the president of the AAPG Middle East Region until 2006.
He was a co-founder in 1989 - and the first president of - the Dhahran Geoscience Society, an AAPG affiliate.
Al-Naim was on the organizing committees of regional Society of Petroleum Engineers technical conferences and of regional GEO events. He was the GEO-2006 chairman.
Having well established his abilities as a professional with the company, Al-Naim showed equal confidence in the thousands of young professionals coming to work at the company who he knew would one day replace him.
In November, he didn't hesitate when asked to give a talk on leadership when he learned the audience would be young professionals.
"I am not worried about the success of this company when I leave; I am confident that this company will continue its success and overcome all future obstacles. The reason why is, by looking at the faces of these young professionals that came from the best and top ranked business schools; they will one day become great leaders and will drive this company forward."
HE Ali I. Al-Naimi, left, speaks with Abdulla Al-Naim during the recent trip to Tabuk.
__________________________________
Article reprinted with permission of Saudi Aramco News.