Omar S. Abdul-Hamid

Towards Neutral Carbon Emissions: Challenges and Opportunities

Dr. Abdul-Hamid has been employed by Saudi Aramco for 37 years, serving diverse Company organizations and in various roles. Since September 2016 he managed the Corporate environment & health protection function, facilitating development and implementation of a Corporate Decarbonization Strategy to achieve net-zero by 2050 and representing the Company on the Executive Committee of the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI). From May 2013 to July 2016, Dr. Abdul-Hamid was the Director of Research Division in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretariat, located in Vienna, Austria. Prior to joining OPEC, he was the Manager of the Saudi Aramco Consulting Services Department. By the end of 2011, he concluded an extended assignment as Manager of the Saudi Aramco Research & Development Center where he supported the crafting and implementation of a Corporate Research and Development Strategy. He held the position of King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) Interim Associate Provost for Academic Affairs between March and September of 2009. In this position, Dr. Abdul-Hamid supported the establishment of the Provost Office, communications with appointed faculty and preparation for the start of academic activities at KAUST. He was then assigned as the Interim Vice President of Research at KAUST between September 2009 and the end of that year, leading a team to launch KAUST engagements and collaborations with local universities and research institutes. In 2003, Dr. Abdul-Hamid successfully completed the Program in Management Development at Harvard Business School. He had received a 1993 doctoral degree in Materials Science & Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, with a minor in Organization Studies from the Sloan School of Management. He holds a 1985 bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, from King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals, Saudi Arabia. He had graduated from Saudi Aramco’s Specialist Development Program (SDP) as a Downstream Corrosion Control Specialist. In relation to that role, he held a number of West Asian & African Region officer positions at the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE International), the world’s premier technical corrosion society.