Saudi Aramco has named Mahdi Aladel as the new chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures LLC (SAEV), Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the situation. Aladel, who formerly headed Aramco’s base oils and lubricants division, will replace SAEV’s previous CEO Majid Mufti who led SAEV for the last four years.
SAEV is Aramco’s arm focusing on venture capital and investments. It mostly invests in early-stage oil, gas, chemicals, and renewable technologies, including chemical applications, drilling techniques, and blockchain-based trading, that can provide Saudi Aramco with some advantages. Under Mufti’s lead, SAEV backed 45 technology firms, mostly in Europe and the US since 2012. In an interview in January, Mufti said the company aimed to start a new $500 million fund for more acquisitions.
