Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud has appointed former Aramco vice president

Abdulaziz al-Abdulkareem as deputy minister of energy, industry, and mineral resources for industry.

Previously, Al-Abdulkareem was responsible for Saudi Aramco’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) programme, a scheme designed to measure and support increased levels of local involvement in Aramco operations.

King Salman has also appointed Nasser al-Nafisi as assistant to the minister.

Nasser al-Nafisi was also previously a vice president at Saudi Aramco.

The personnel changes in the energy ministry are part of a broader shake-up that included splitting the Ministry of Culture and Information into two separate ministries.

He also ordered the establishment of a royal authority for the city of Mecca and Holy sites.