Patrick Pouyanné
, Chief Executive Officer,Total
Propelling himself to the fifth spot in the rankings this year is Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of French energy giant Total. The international oil company has significantly strengthened its upstream activities in the Middle East and North Africa region and has consolidated its status as arguably the most prosperous IOC to operate in the region, by virtue of a number of landmark ventures it has entered into in the last year.
Perhaps Total’s biggest achievement has been in Qatar, where it replaced incumbent operator Maersk Oil to win a 25-year contract from Qatar Petroleum to operate Al Shaheen – the world’s largest offshore oilfield. As part of the 30% stake agreement, Total, which as per Pouyanné will be investing a whopping sum of $2bn towards development of the project, will also form a company jointly with QP – the North Oil Co – that will begin operations in July this year.
In the region, Pouyanné has brilliantly balanced Total’s business interests in the conflicting states of Qatar and Iran – leading the company to become one of the earliest international majors to resume work in or enter the Islamic Republic post the lifting of economic sanctions last year. Recent reports suggest that Total is seeking a 50% stake in a $4bn-worth project in Iran’s giant South Pars gas field, apart from looking to buy a multi-billion dollar stake in an LNG export facility. Total is also eyeing investment in Abu Dhabi’s energy assets.
