Mahmoud M. Abdul Baqi.

Former VP Exploration & Petroleum Engineering Development, Saudi Aramco

Mahmoud Abdulbaqi is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for both ARGAS and ARDISEIS, two geophysical companies which are joint ventures between Saudi Arabia and CGGVERITAS(Compagnie Generale de Geophysique Veritas) of France . The first company operates in Saudi Arabia and the second throughout the Middle East. He is also a consultant to the oil and gas, and financial industries in Saudi Arabia, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.

In October 2005, Mr. Abdulbaqi retired from Saudi Aramco as Vice President of Exploration and Vice President of Petroleum Engineering and Development.

Mr. Abdulbaqi was elected to the position of Vice President of Exploration in 1991, and in this capacity oversaw exploration for oil and gas and the development of the world's largest reservoirs. During his 34 years with the company, he held the positions of Chief Exploration Geologist and Chief Production Geologist, was a member of the Saudi Aramco Executive Advisory Committee, Planning Advisory Committee, and the Board of Directors of the Arabian Drilling Company.

After graduating with a degree in Geology in 1966, Mr. Abdulbaqi worked for three years in academia and two years in engineering geology before joining Aramco in 1971. In addition to his education in the geosciences, Mr. Abdulbaqi is a graduate of the Management Program at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., and the Managing the Enterprise Program at Colombia University Business School in New York.
Mr. Abdulbaqi has chaired many industry forums and authored numerous technical papers and internal company reports. From 1999 to 2002, he served as the first President of the Middle East Region for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG). He also served on the association advisory council. In 2003, the AAPG awarded him with the status of Honorary Membership, ranking him among an elite club of industry pioneers.

In addition to his honorary membership of the AAPG, Mr. Abdulbaqi is also a founding member of Dhahran Geosciences Society in Saudi Arabia, vice president of the European association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE), a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG).