New president takes Petron helm

Philippine refiner and retailer Petron Corp. has named Kamal Al-Yahya as its new president, who is taking the reins from Khalid Al-Faddagh, who has served the company since August 2003. Al-Yahya comes to Petron with more than 20 years of experience in the oil industry, working for Saudi Aramco, which owns 40% of Petron. Before this assignment, he was head of exploration operations at Saudi Aramco, where he was tasked with acquiring and processing seismic data, as well as other processes relevant to oil and gas exploration. Apart from his Saudi Aramco post, he also sits on the board of South Rub Al-Khali, a joint venture among Saudi Aramco, Royal Dutch Shell Group and Total SA, which produces gas in Saudi Arabia. Al-Yahya has a doctorate in geophysics from Stanford University and a master’s degree in engineering and geoscience from the University of California. (September 8, 2007)