 He was appointed as Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources from October 1994, which he accepted on the condition that he would have power to reorganize and reform the Ministry.In March 1995, he resigned.In June 1995, in a Cabinet reshuffle President Saleh replaced Faisal Bin Shamlan with Mohammed Said al-Attar, formerly Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, as Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources, in a move to tie the oil ministry closer to the President's office.