GlassPoint Solar has announced the appointment of energy finance expert Nazar Al Lawati as senior vice president of Project Development, International.
Al Lawati, who most recently served as chief financial officer of the state-owned Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (ORPIC), will lead GlassPoint’s growth in the Middle East region.
His scope of work includes fostering partnerships with strategic and international partners to develop and finance large scale solar enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects.
“I am delighted to be part of an industry leader that is paving the way for solar deployment across the region,” Al Lawati said.
“GlassPoint’s technology offers significant economic and environmental benefits to the local economies where we operate.
Using solar to produce steam for EOR can reduce an oilfield’s gas requirements and corresponding carbon emissions by up to 80%,” he said.
“Significant value can be extracted from the saved gas through export or by using it to fuel industrial projects and provide feedstock to the petrochemical industry,” he added.
Al Lawati joins GlassPoint with over 17 years of financial management experience in the energy and consumer sectors.
During his tenure at ORPIC he supported the company in securing major funding deals. This included raising $3.8bn for ORPIC’s Liwa Plastics Industries Complex Project, $2.8bn for the Sohar Refinery Improvement Project and $900mn in corporate debt.
Prior to that, Al Lawati worked with Royal Dutch Shell in Abu Dhabi where he was in charge of finance for the company’s non-operated ventures in Abu Dhabi and Pakistan. He also held a number of financial roles with Unilever in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Al Lawati will be based in GlassPoint’s regional headquarters in Muscat alongside the majority of the executive team including the chief executive officer, chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
