On Dec 29, 2014, KAUST President Jean-Lou Chameau appointed Prof. Tadeusz (Tad) W Patzek as new Director of the Ali I. Al-Naimi Petroleum Engineering Research Center (ANPERC). Prof. Patzek is a world-renowned scientist and engineer in the field of hydrocarbon recovery from difficult conventional and unconventional reservoirs. 

Tad Patzek sees a bright future for ANPERC: "Crude oil and natural gas are the very foundation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Challenging research on increasing ultimate oil recovery to 70% of the oil in place and on unlocking unconventional gas resources will have a direct impact on the future of the Kingdom and KAUST.  ANPERC will benefit from the future hires, intense interactions with several other KAUST Centers and Programs, and close collaboration with Saudi Aramco.  Together, we will create the world-class powerhouse in the complex science and engineering required to invent and implement the novel methods of hydrocarbon recovery.  We will also educate world-class specialists, who will carry on the research and implement it in the Kingdom and elsewhere.”