Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa replaced Youssef Qablawi with Maher al-Hassan as CEO of the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) in an 18 October decree. Mr Qablawi was the first chief of the Syrian state-owned firm since its reconstitution last year, and led the country’s engagement with IOCs and investors.
The new CEO has a petrochemical engineering degree from Homs University and worked briefly at the Hayan block operated by INA between 2011 and 2013. The Croatian operator was forced out by EU sanctions in 2012. He served as Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Protection in the post-Assad transitional government and, most recently, as deputy to the Minister of Economy and Industry. (CONTINUED - 238 WORDS)