Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: good morning.  I would like to thank each of you for being here for today’s inauguration. I also want to offer my congratulations and appreciation to my good friend Peter Voser, and to thank the members of the Motiva Members’ Committee, including Mark Williams of Shell, Khalid Al-Buainain of Saudi Aramco, Bob Pease of Motiva, and their colleagues, for helping guide this landmark project to its successful conclusion.  

I would also like to note the presence here today of a close friend and a great industry leader, Jim Kinnear, who has served on the Saudi Aramco’s Board of Directors for many years and was the president & CEO of Texaco when we first invested in this refinery nearly a quarter-century ago, as part of the Star Enterprise joint venture.  

Jim is so revered here for supporting Port Arthur over the years, that they named a street after him and held a “James W. Kinnear Day” in Jefferson County in recognition of his efforts.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is an historic moment — even for a refinery so steeped in history that it dates back to the Spindletop oil rush more than a century ago. As you have heard, this massive project makes Motiva’s Port Arthur facility the largest refinery in the United States — and as a proud Texas Aggie, I might add that it keeps that distinction where it belongs, right here in the Lone Star State. To give you a sense of scale, with the completion of this massive expansion the Port Arthur Refinery alone would be capable of meeting the entire gasoline demand of France, Italy or all of Scandinavia.  

So while this refinery does have a long and proud history, it now has an even brighter and more promising future.  

This expansion enters the history books as the largest single investment of any kind ever undertaken in Texas, and the largest single expansion of US refining capacity in four decades. But even more importantly, it has been a source of economic growth and job creation at a time when they are most needed, in part through the positive ripple effect across local communities.  

In fact, Shell and Saudi Aramco started this project just before the start of the global financial crisis. But rather than cut and run, we pressed ahead with our long-term commitment to this market and this country’s consumers, benefiting American jobs and energy security. Going forward, this project will also help to moderate product prices for a long time to come.  

In other words, ladies and gentlemen, Port Arthur stands as a ten-billion-dollar vote of confidence in this nation, and in the continued good health of its petroleum sector.

Of course, this facility already held an important place in Saudi Aramco’s history, since our 1989 investment in US refining and marketing marked our first overseas venture. Now, this expansion stands as our largest single investment outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, once again making history.  

Looking further afield, this project is also part of a broader strategy for Saudi Aramco. Despite the global downstream sector undergoing short-term pressures, Saudi Aramco firmly believes the business has healthy prospects, especially for companies that take a long-term view and wisely invest in assets, technology, and people through the right partnerships.  

Our joint investment in Port Arthur with our partner Shell, as well as our other downstream partnerships around the globe, is testament to that belief. In fact, over the next decade we will push the total worldwide capacity of refineries we own fully or through joint ventures up to some eight million barrels a day, the largest of any oil company in the world.

Yet for Saudi Aramco, this project is more than just an investment in infrastructure: it’s an investment in an energy relationship that goes back in history as far as our company itself. Nearly eight decades ago, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed a concession agreement with an American petroleum enterprise to explore for oil in the vast Arabian deserts.  

You could say that the rest is history, except that this story of partnership and mutually beneficial collaboration is still being written, as we see today.

But while we can take pride in the past, our focus is firmly on the future — and this project is a tangible sign of Saudi Aramco’s enduring energy ties to this nation. Our commitment to meet the needs of this country’s oil market, our expanded stake in the US downstream, and our commitment toward R&D investments in future transportation fuels will all contribute to enhancing America’s long-term energy security — today, tomorrow and for decades to come, just as we have throughout our storied history.

Allow me to close by acknowledging all those who made this most ambitious vision a reality, including our partners at Shell, the dedicated staff at our US subsidiary Saudi Refining Incorporated, and the team at Motiva, as well as the devoted men and women of the Port Arthur Refinery who kept vital refined products flowing even in the midst of this gigantic construction effort.  

It’s also important to acknowledge the many construction and work crews who have spent years building this expansion. I also want to express my sincere thanks to the federal, state, county and municipal officials and agencies that provided indispensable support, and to the local business community that understands the continued importance of petroleum for the Golden Triangle region.

And finally, I want to deliver my warmest word of appreciation to our fence-line neighbors and to the people of Port Arthur and Jefferson County, who were our partners in development and who persevered through the inevitable inconveniences brought about by this gigantic construction effort.

In conclusion, my friends, this project is a welcome sign of progress and a powerful driver of future prosperity. And while this facility is deeply rooted in history, I strongly believe the expanded Port Arthur Refinery stands as a harbinger of even better things to come for the people of this great state and this great nation.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for your attention and for joining us today.

Khalid A. Al-Falih took office as president and chief executive officer of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) on January 1, 2009. With 55,000 employees, Saudi Aramco is an integrated global petroleum company and the leading industrial enterprise in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Under Al-Falih’s leadership, the company manages the world's largest proven oil reserves, and is the world’s largest producer exporter of crude oil, a major natural gas producer, and a leading player in the global refining sector.

A veteran of Saudi Aramco for his entire career, which spans three decades, Al-Falih has served in key leadership positions across the organization and has driven continued expansion of the company’s business portfolio into new areas of operations. As executive vice president for Operations from 2007 through 2008, he oversaw all of the company’s core operations, including the business lines for Exploration and Producing; Refining, Marketing, and International; Operations Services; and Engineering and Project Management. He has also previously served as the senior vice president of Gas Operations and Industrial Relations, and as president of Petron Corporation, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and the Philippine National Oil Company in which Saudi Aramco held an equity stake. As a leader in the company’s corporate planning team, Al-Falih guided the development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s first natural gas strategy, and later played the leading role in negotiations with international oil companies engaged in the Kingdom's natural gas initiative. When the company formed its New Business Development organization in 2003, Al-Falih was appointed as its first head. In that role, he led the development of world-scale refining and petrochemical integration projects with leading global chemical enterprises. He has also served as chairman of the South Rub‘ al-Khali joint venture between Shell, Total and Saudi Aramco.

Al-Falih was named to the Saudi Aramco Board of Directors in 2004. He also serves on the Saudi Arabian Supreme Council of Petroleum and Mineral Affairs, chaired by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Al-Falih earned his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University in 1982. In 1991, he received his MBA from the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. His membership in professional societies includes the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE), and the Oxford Energy Policy Club.

He was also a member of the board of the Saudi National Program for Development of Industrial Clusters. Al-Falih is a well-known advocate for higher education in Saudi Arabia. Since 2008, he has served as a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). A new international, graduate-level research university that opened in 2009, KAUST focuses on research that applies science and technology to resolve global challenges and advance economic and social development. Under Al-Falih’s direction, Saudi Aramco spearheaded construction of the university’s physical campus and organizational development. The company continues to support KAUST's economic development mission through partnership in its Industrial Collaboration Program. Al-Falih also continues to oversee Saudi Aramco’s partnerships with KFUPM, where he serves as a member of the university’s International Advisory Board. He is a member of the Asia Business Council and J.P. Morgan International Council.

Al-Falih is active in many social programs, and previously served as chairman of the Dammam City Municipal Council. His board memberships in other community-focused organizations include the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, the Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Fund for Supporting Small Business Projects for Women, and the Eastern Province Society for the Handicapped.

Al-Falih was raised in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. He is married to Dr. Najah Al-Garawi, a professor at King Faisal University, and has five children; three girls and two boys.