Yasser M. Mufti has been appointed Chairman of Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company (Luberef), effective May 24, 2026, following the resignation of Ibrahim Q. Al-Buainain who stepped down on May 21 citing personal reasons. The board selected Mufti at a meeting held May 22, with his appointment pending shareholder ratification. He will serve through August 14, 2027, completing the current board term. The move marks a shift in leadership at the world's leading base oil producer and sole virgin base oil manufacturer in Saudi Arabia at a time when the company pursues capacity expansion and regional market consolidation.
Mufti, currently Executive Vice President of Products and Customers at Saudi Aramco, brings extensive downstream commercial expertise to the role. The appointment reflects confidence in his strategic vision for the base oil sector, with Luberef board members noting his experience spanning global energy markets, commercial optimization, and investment strategy. Al-Buainain, who chaired the board since August 2022, was a non-executive director whose tenure included oversight during a period of organizational transition. The board recorded appreciation for his contributions.
Mufti joined Saudi Aramco in 1995 following five years as a wireline engineer at Schlumberger across multiple countries. His three-decade career at Aramco has encompassed diverse disciplines, beginning with seven years in refined product sales before transitioning to corporate planning and later managing upstream departments including Sea Water Injection and the Hawiyah Gas Plant. He progressed to increasingly senior roles, serving as President and CEO of Aramco Trading from 2014 to 2016, Vice President of Strategy and Market Analysis beginning in 2017, and Senior Vice President of Fuels from 2021. Between 2012 and 2013, he served as Saudi Arabia's Governor to OPEC and was appointed Chairman of OPEC's Board of Governors. He subsequently led Aramco's Strategic Transformation Office and created the company's first mergers and acquisitions function. Mufti holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, an MBA from City University of London, and completed an executive development program at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. He currently serves as chairman of Valvoline Global, Saudi Aramco Jubail Refinery, Aramco Lubricants and Retail Company, and multiple other Saudi Aramco joint ventures.
Luberef, established in 1976, operates refineries in Jeddah and Yanbu with combined annual capacity of 1.3 million metric tonnes and generates estimated revenues of approximately $2.5 billion. The company is majority owned by Saudi Aramco (70 percent) and Jadwa Investment Group (30 percent), serving national, regional, and international oil companies. It is the regional leader in base oil production and supplies feedstock for lubricants across automotive, marine, and industrial sectors. The company is developing LubeHub, an industrial park adjacent to its Yanbu facility designed to attract specialty lubricant manufacturers in line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 objectives.
Mufti's appointment appears strategically designed to strengthen Luberef's competitive positioning during a period of capacity expansion. His background overseeing Aramco's downstream commercial portfolio positions him to accelerate commercial optimization at Luberef, while his M&A expertise and track record building new business units suggest potential for expanding the company's refining capacity and product offerings. The appointment further consolidates Aramco's influence over Luberef governance, as Mufti remains a company executive while assuming the chairmanship. The pending shareholder ratification remains a procedural step, with no indication of resistance from Jadwa or other stakeholders at the time of the board appointment.
