Senior oil officials who have been nominated for the post of the CEO of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) compete to highlight their achievements, each according to his own way.
At the height of this the employees of the oil sector are anxious, anticipating the upcoming changes, and wonder if the new CEO will be from within the sector or from outside?
Between supporters and opponents of the idea of a CEO from outside the oil sector, sources told Al-Rai that the trends of current leaders nominated for the position have raised fears and many employees were heard grumbling because of their reliance on specific teams and groups, without looking at the rest of the employees, ignoring many who are competent enough.
This prompts those workers who feel they are marginalized demand the CEO be from within the KPC and say if he is someone from outside the sector he should be technically sound.
The same sources said, “Although the beginning of some current executive leaders from within the oil sector assuming their positions was promising, they quickly looked for support from ‘second ranked’ officials as a facade and a shield for them and relied on them technically and administratively to make decisions and treated workers according to what they said, without regard to professionalism and entitlement in many cases.
The sources pointed out that many workers who suffered as a result of the above situation, support the idea of trying a new executive from outside the oil sector from among the retired personnel, in the event the departure of the current CEO of the KPC is confirmed, in light of the distrust they feel towards ‘second-rank’ executives who have been nominated to take over leadership post.
The sources say that as a result, many workers believe that the appointment of the CEO from outside the KOC who is technically qualified will put an end to ‘groupism’ that has begun to appear in the sector, especially since some of the second-rank of officials, despite their lack of experience, have become trustworthy in the eyes of many senior officials because many fear they may lose promotions and opportunities at all levels.
The sources stressed that despite the workers’ concern about the outcome of the new executive, they are counting on taking into account the public interest of the sector, and not entering it into a cycle of internal conflicts that may affect its performance, indicating that many managers and team leaders with great experience in the oil sector, are waiting for the upcoming changes to take a decision, whether to retire, or to continue with an executive leadership that guarantees them a fair chance for advancement.
On the other hand, some workers believe that the presence of an executive leadership from outside the oil sector, will harm the sector and push it into labor crises and inevitable internal disputes, with a focus on technical matters, and the inability to keep pace with the senior oil officials technically, pointing out that this will create fronts that may bring the sector back to square one with crises that will benefit those who fish troubled waters of the sector.
They added, “If the decision is to give the executive position to a person from outside the sector, it is better to bring in a former senior oil official.”
