Saudi Monarch Dismisses 2nd Oil Executive
King Fahd dismissed the governor of Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Petromin, the second major oil figure in the kingdom to be fired in two months, Riyadh radio reported today.
Abdul-Hadi Taher, 55, governor of the Saudi Petroleum and Minerals Organization since it was established in 1962, has been asked “to retire,” the radio said. No reason was given.
Long-serving Oil Minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani was dismissed by Fahd on Oct. 29 after apparent differences over the kingdom’s oil policy.
Petromin owns and runs domestic oil refineries and has a share in three export refineries. It also controls the marketing of petroleum products abroad and their distribution in Saudi Arabia.
King Fahd is currently visiting the country’s main oil-producing eastern region and had been due to open a new $2-billion refinery in the Persian Gulf industrial city of Jubayl on Wednesday.
Riyadh radio said, however, that the opening of the 250,000-barrel-a-day refinery has been postponed. It gave no explanation.
Taher is a well-known figure in the oil world and has been closely connected with oil development in Saudi Arabia.
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