Saudi Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, has appointed its first woman head of an overseas office, the company said late on Wednesday.

Marwa al-Khuzaim will helm Aramco Asia Singapore as managing director from Dec. 1, overseeing the company's corporate strategies in southeast Asia and Australia, taking over from Nader al-Arfaj, Aramco said in a statement.

Al-Khuzaim will be responsible for the marketing of crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and oil products, and drive the performance of services such as supply chain, procurement and inspection in Singapore, Aramco said.

Al-Khuzaim was previously a supply chain director at Aramco Chemicals Company, a unit of Aramco, the company said.

Her appointment comes before the world's most profitable company starts a share sale on Nov. 17 in an initial public offering (IPO) that may raise between $20 billion and $40 billion.