41. Richard Doidge
Managing Director, Maersk Oil Middle East/Kurdistan
Richard Doidge has been Managing Director of Maersk Oil Middle East, based in Abu Dhabi, since August 2011. Maersk has a particularly strong reputation in Qatar, and works with Qatar petroleum to develop the Al Shaheen field, which contributes 40% of Qatar’s daily oil production. To date over 1.5 billion barrels of oil have been recovered.
42. Rami Qasem
CEO, GE Oil & Gas MENAT
It’s been a stellar year for GE Oil & Gas MENAT, headed by Rami Qasem. The company has won a number of contracts over the last 12 months, including a deal to supply and maintain advanced centrifugal compressors to PDO, and its downstream business awarded a 15-year contract by Qatar Fertiliser Company. It also completed the first six high-efficiency gas compression trains manufactured in Saudi Arabia.
43. Shamis Al Dhaheri
Chairman, Ali & Sons Marine Engineering
A great year for Ali & Sons Marine Engineering, as Chairman Shamis Al Dhaheri led the company to a number of significant contract wins. The backbone of the business is its 280,000m2 facility that handles diversified business streams including ship repair and new build, rigs and jack ups, and oil & gas projects.
In March, the company was awarded a contract for the design, fabrication and supply of 25 numbers of power supply skids for a project in which ADNOC is the end user, while in February, Ali & Sons Marine’s relationship with Petrofac was strengthened further with the award of 350 tons of steel fabrication work.
The contracts follow a successful 2015, when the company was awarded a contract by Bujsaim Group for two crew boats, which Al Dhaheri described as ‘an important project for us as it indicates the successful strategy taken by the group to grow Ali & Sons Marine and also proves that the focus on the regional market will help in that growth’.
Speaking to Oil & Gas Middle East in September 2015, the Chairman also revealed that he was passionate about helping other companies in the United Arab Emirates.
“One of the initiatives that I’m working on is developing our activities to support a number of local businesses. If you can help local companies, that is a legacy that is very much in line with the vision of the Leaders of the UAE and Abu Dhabi.”
44. Adham AlKady
VP, Hydrocarbons, Infrastructure, MM&C for MENA, WorleyParsons
Adham AlKady is Vice President, Hydrocarbons, Infrastructure, MM&C for MENA at WorleyParsons and is the Global Customer Relationship Manager for Saudi Aramco. AlKady’s experience spans some 30 years focussed primarily on the energy sector extending across North America, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia Pacific. Prior to joining WorleyParsons, Adham has worked in international management and business settings for various companies.
45. Nabil Al Alawi
CEO, AlMansoori
With almost four decades’ experience in the sector, AlMansoori Specialized Engineering’s CEO, Nabil Al Alawi is a part of the GCC’s oil and gas fabric. In an interview with Oil & Gas Middle East in February, Al Alawi seemed optimistic, saying: “The downturn for me is a chance to reflect on how I am running my business, and how I can learn to become even more efficient and to be better – it is an opportunity. We’re going to hire 400 people in 2016, not cut staff, and we’re going to achieve double digit growth – I’ve already done my budget.”
46. David T. Seaton
Chairman and CEO, Fluor Corporation
David T. Seaton serves as the chairman and chief executive officer of Fluor Corporation, the American engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance services companies. Seaton became CEO and joined Fluor’s board of directors in February 2011, and was elected to the role of chairman of the board in February 2012. In the Middle East, a consortium of EPC firms led by Fluor in October last year bagged a $2.6bn worth contract from the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC).
47. Bernard J. Duroc-Danner
CEO, Weatherford International
Dr. Bernard J. Duroc-Danner has led Weatherford International plc, one of the largest multinational oilfield service companies, for nearly three decades.
Upon first inception of EVI, Inc., a 1987 startup in oilfield service & equipment, Duroc-Danner was appointed the company’s president and chief executive officer in 1990. The 1998 merger between EVI and Weatherford Enterra Inc., marked an important stage in the company’s development. At that time, Duroc-Danner was also elected as chairman of the board for what was then the new Weatherford reflecting the combined merged entities. From that point thereon he has led the company as a prominent player in the oilfield services arena, while a large segment of new Weatherford, Grant Prideco, was spun off to shareholders in the public markets.
Over the past year, Duroc-Danner has swiftly adjusted Weatherford’s operational and financial structure in response to the new reality, while maintaining strength in its core disciplines. Today, Weatherford is steadfast in delivering the product and service portfolio, which is the result of his long-term industrial vision. The company currently operates in over 100 countries and has a network of approximately 1,100 locations, including manufacturing, service, research and development, and training facilities.
Duroc-Danner’s extensive experience affords him an impressive knowledge of the global oilfield service industry. Weatherford stands as a beacon of technology and performance for the industry having built a portfolio of highly engineered and industry-leading technologies. The company has made cutting-edge advances in technology by taking a multi-disciplinary approach to reducing costs, maximising efficiency and optimising performance of its clients’ assets. In 2015, Weatherford achieved the highest metric for employee safety in the company’s recorded history.
Aside from his leadership at Weatherford, Duroc-Danner has held in the early 80s positions at Mobil Oil and Arthur D. Little, Inc. He also serves on the National Petroleum Council and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He is a frequent speaker at leading industry forums, such as the Oil & Money Conference and the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Conference. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
48. Vagit Alekperov
President, Lukoil
Vagit Alekperov has been leading Russia’s Lukoil as president since 1993. The oil and gas major controls 1% of the world’s oil reserves and produces 2% of the global oil per day. Lukoil Overseas, which is prominently present in Iraq, last year reported a record increase in output, totalling 112mn barrels of oil equivalent. The increase was due to the start-up of the West Qurna-2 field in Iraq, the company said, adding that an additional 6.8bcm of gas was also produced.
49. Ryan M. Lance
Chairman and CEO, ConocoPhillips
Ryan M. Lance has served as chairman and chief executive officer of ConocoPhillips, the world’s largest independent exploration and production company based on production and reserves, since 2012. He is also chairman of the Executive Committee for ConocoPhillips. He has served the company in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North America, for technology, major projects, downstream strategy, integration and speciality functions.
50. Ali Al Faris
Chairman-in-line, Basra Company
Making it to Oil & Gas Middle East’s annual Power 50 list is the man who is leading an initiative to tap into the vast oil and gas reserves of Iraq’s Basra Governorate . Ali Al Faris, the chairman of the Oil & Gas Committee at Basra Council – the political authority for Iraq’s economic capital – has announced that it is in the process of establishing Basra Company, to attract foreign direct investment in key sectors, including oil, gas and infrastructure.
