OREANDA-NEWS.  August 15, 2012. At a reception in Tokyo, Khalid G. Al-Buainain, Saudi Aramco senior vice president of Downstream, inaugurated the establishment of Aramco Asia Japan K.K. (AAJ), a Saudi Aramco affiliate in Japan which is part of the newly organized Aramco Far East companies, reported the press-centre of Aramco.

Al-Buainain also introduced Ahmed M. Alkhunaini, the newly appointed representative director of AAJ, to more than 300 guests from various sectors including government, business and academia.

After emphasizing Saudi Aramco’s unwavering commitment to the Japanese market which started close to a quarter of a century ago, and praising Japan’s steady recovery from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami last year, Al-Buainain introduced Alkhunaini as the eighth person to head Saudi Aramco’s presence in Tokyo, succeeding predecessors including Al-Buainain himself.

“The newly established entity will build on the long, strong relationship between the two nations. The scope and focus of the new organization will extend beyond petroleum trade and procurement to areas such as Research and Development, leveraging Saudi Aramco’s newly launched Energy Venture Capital initiative and mutual investment in new technologies supporting the energy industry,” Al-Buainain explained.

Echoing Al-Buainain’s introduction, Alkhunaini said, “It is a great privilege to be assigned as the first head of AAJ, picking up the baton from prominent pioneers. The launch of Aramco Asia Japan is our way, at Saudi Aramco, to display our commitment as a long-term stable energy supplier to this country, as well as a strategic partner in seeking the highest quality services that Japan can offer to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia’s oil industry had first opened its representative office in Tokyo in 1984. Then, Saudi Aramco established Saudi Petroleum Overseas Tokyo Office in 1990.

The newly inaugurated AAJ is integrating supporting functions for all Saudi Aramco’s business activities in Japan, ranging from marketing to procurement, and is staffed with about 50 employees. The office is located at 26th floor of Marunouchi Building, in the most prestigious area in Tokyo, overlooking the Imperial Palace.