Veteran Saudi Aramco operations chief joins Halliburton board

Oilfield services major Halliburton has appointed a top former Saudi Aramco executive, Abdulaziz F. Al Khayyal, to its board of directors.

The move comes just weeks after Halliburton announced plans to buy Baker Hughes, combining the second and third largest services firms in the world by turnover behind Schlumberger.

The appointment was effective Dec. 4, 2014 and Mr Al Khayyal will stand for election by stockholders at the annual meeting in May 2015.

Mr Al Khayyal spent more than 30 years at Saudi Aramco before retiring from the company as senior vice president in charge of industrial relations in April this year.

He held a variety of managerial positions in oil and gas operations and maintenance while at Saudi Aramco, including senior vice president, International Operations, and senior vice president, Refining, Marketing and International.

In 2004, Al Khayyal was appointed to the board of directors of Saudi Aramco, and served as chairman of the PetroRabigh board of directors from 2005 to 2012. He was also chairman of the board of Vela International Marine.

Al Khayyal earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of California, Irvine.

“Abdulaziz’s exceptional oil and gas knowledge brings a wealth of value to the Halliburton board,” said Dave Lesar, Halliburton chairman and CEO. “His leadership and international experience in the energy industry will be extremely beneficial to Halliburton as we strengthen and grow our worldwide operations.”