27 November 2017
Minister of the Year
Khalid A. Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia
Having long been one of the oil industry's most influential figures, 2017 has been a year in which Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources has shown exceptional leadership. Also holding the position of chairman of Saudi Aramco, Al-Falih has steered the world's largest oil exporter to the heart of negotiations to help rebalance the oil market. Al-Falih has spearheaded the historic deal between Opec, and some of the world's largest oil producers outside of the group, to restrict their crude output to help speed up market rebalancing. His influence has been felt acutely. Saudi Arabia's decision in the summer of 2017 to cut exports, as well as its production, has been c

Also in this section
23 May 2025
LNG projects need the certainty of long-term contracts, but Henry-Hub–linked deals put buyers at significant risk
22 May 2025
Industry says compliance is near-impossible and have called for more clarity to prevent cargoes being redirected
22 May 2025
The next energy crisis could come from the severing of the link between oil and gas prices, with potentially severe economic consequences
22 May 2025
With contract awards looming on the Kuwait-Saudi backed Dorra field, the long-stalled gas project appears finally to be gaining traction—despite Iranian objections