21. Paul Theys
Lead Country Manager, UAE, ExxonMobil
Paul Theys is the Lead Country Manager for ExxonMobil’s operations in the United Arab Emiates. ExxonMobil, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Japan Oil Development Company (JODCO), co-venturers in Zakum Development Company (ZADCO), are working together to expand development of one of the world’s largest oil fields. The Upper Zakum field, situated about 50 miles northwest of Abu Dhabi city, is currently producing more than half a million barrels a day. ExxonMobil says it has been working in the UAE for about 75 years now, and says one of its key targets is to indulge in carbon capture operations in Abu Dhabi.
22. Emma Marcegaglia
Chairman, Eni
With Emma Marcegaglia at the top, Italian oil and gas major Eni is making good strides in the region, particularly in Egypt, where it last year made a discovery of a giant offshore gas field off the northern coast of Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea. The Zohr field could hold a potential 30tn cubic feet of lean gas, representing one of the world’s largest gas finds. The huge reserves were found at a depth of 4,757 feet in the Shorouk Block in Egyptian waters. Eni has a 100% working interest in the block which it obtained in January 2014 through its subsidiary IEOC Production B.V. The contract was signed with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company following a competitive international bid round. Marcegaglia has also led Eni into sanctions-free Iran, where the company has signed an MoU with the National Iranian Drilling Company for drilling and exploration projects. Eni with its subsidiary contractor Saipem S.p.A., are also negotiating with Iranian authorities for favourable deals.
23. Neri Askland
Vice President Middle East, Statoil
Neri Askland is Statoil’s representative in the Middle East region where he has been leading business development and market analysis activities on behalf of the company. Developing and maintaining good relations with relevant authorities, stakeholders and potential partners is an important part of his role.
Mr Askland works closely with internal departments within Statoil to ensure successful execution of joint projects in the region. Statoil’s ambition in the region is to establish and grow a long-term, sustainable energy business in partnership with Abu Dhabi with the objective of becoming one of the leading IOC’s in the country in terms of value and equity volumes.
Statoil is an international energy company with operations in 37 countries, building on 44 years of experience from oil and gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf. The company is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway with approximately 21,000 employees worldwide, and is listed on the New York and Oslo stock exchanges.
Askland holds an MBA from BI Norwegian Business School in Norway and National Technological University in Singapore. Prior to his current position, Mr Askland was Country Manager for the GCC region and has held several senior positions in project and business development in Statoil.
24. Dr Patrick Allman-Ward
CEO, Dana Gas
Dr Patrick has certainly made his mark in 2015 and 2016 so far. At a time of exceptionally low oil prices and in an extremely difficult business environment, the company has strengthened its balance sheet, invested in a new phase of development activity in Egypt and brought on-stream the Zora gas field in the UAE. He has addressed and overcome myriad complex regional challenges, and is firmly in control of Dana Gas’ position in its payment dispute with the Kurdistan Regional Government.
25. Musabbeh Al Kaabi
CEO, Mubadala Petroleum
Musabbeh Al-Kaabi is the Chief Executive Officer of Mubadala Petroleum, responsible for developing and managing Mubadala’s portfolio of oil and gas related businesses at all stages of the upstream value chain.
He joined Mubadala Petroleum in 2013 after spending 16 years working with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, where he rose to the position of Geoscience Team Leader, responsible for preparing and implementing the company’s exploration strategy, and subsequently became Manager of the Exploration Division.
Al-Kaabi has been an active participant in a number of professional bodies and event-related executive committees, and served as a Board Advisory Committee member for the National Drilling Company and is currently an Executive Committee member of various newly established joint ventures in Abu Dhabi.
26. Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh
Managing Director, Dolphin Energy
Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh is the Managing Director of Dolphin Energy Limited. Spanning a career of more than 30 years, Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh holds a number of prominent positions across various private and public sector institutions in Abu Dhabi and has been behind the launch and development of flagship initiatives.
Under Al Sayegh’s leadership, Dolphin Energy recently announced that its production reached 6tn standard cubic feet (scf), a major milestone since the company started operations in 2007. The Dolphin Gas Project achieved full throughput in February 2008 and since then it has been delivering 2bn scf of natural gas per day to the UAE and Oman. The company meets 30% of the UAE’s energy needs and delivers significant volumes of natural gas to each of the country’s seven emirates.
Dolphin Energy also recently awarded two four-year service contracts to SPIE Oil & Gas Services Middle East. SPIE Oil & Gas Services was awarded a contract to provide routine, predictive, preventive, overhaul maintenance and emergency repair services as well as operation services for Dolphin Energy Limited’s onshore facilities located in Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar. The work will cover buildings and fence and street lighting systems. Through a second agreement, SPIE Oil & Gas Services will provide the same services for Dolphin Energy Limited’s Ras Laffan onshore facilities and for two offshore facilities.
Al Sayegh is currently chairman of the Abu Dhabi Global Market a financial freezone that aims to promote Abu Dhabi as a leading market for financial services across the world and strengthen the international profile and position of the United Arab Emirates. He is also vice chairman of First Gulf Bank, vice chairman of the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS-WWF), and board member of the Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (ADNIC). Al Sayegh holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Lewis & Clark College, USA.
27. Edward LaFehr
Chief Operating Officer, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa)
Edward LaFehr joined TAQA in 2012 and was appointed Chief Operating Officer in February 2014. LaFehr was previously president of the company’s North American business, its largest subsidiary. Late last year, Taqa announced its ‘first oil’ from the new Cladhan field development in the UK’s North Sea. The field has been developed as a subsea tie-back to the TAQA-operated Tern Alpha platform. TAQA is the operator of Cladhan, with a 64.5% interest. Its co-venturers, Sterling Resources (UK) and MOL Group, hold a 2% and 33.5% interest respectively. Prior to joining Taqa, LaFehr – whose career spans 32 years – was senior vice-president at Talisman Energy Inc, with responsibility for its Canadian business.
28. Bjorn Dale
Managing Director, DNO
With managing director Bjorn Dale leading the way, Norwegian oil and gas company DNO is making significant strides in the region, particularly in Oman. DNO has recently in March this year spudded its first exploration well in Block 36 in the southwestern part of the Sultanate, marking the start of an energetic exploratory effort targeting this promising concession in the prolific Rub Al Khali basin.
In June last year, DNO also announced achieving a record of 170,000 barrels of oil per day produced from the Tawke field in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Of that total, 30,000 barrels would be sold into the local market and the balance will be allocated for export, DNO said.
29. Majid Jafar
CEO, Crescent Petroleum
Majid Jafar is the CEO of Crescent Petroleum and the vice chairman of the board of the Crescent Group, a Sharjah-based, family-run business enterprise. Crescent Petroleum has major operations outside the UAE, in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and Egypt. Jafar also serves as managing director of the board of Dana Gas, with which Crescent Petroleum is working in a consortium (that also includes other companies) in Kurdistan. Crescent Petroleum is also eyeing expansion in Egypt.
30. Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani
Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, RAK Petroleum
Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani chairs the board of Dubai-headquartered and Oslo-listed RAK Petroleum with indirect interests in 18 exploration and production blocks in the Middle East and North and West Africa. With an impressive number of executive roles under his belt, Mossavar-Rahmani serves concurrently as the executive chairman of Norwegian oil company DNO, 40% owned by RAK Petroleum, and as chairman of Foxtrot International, 33% owned by RAK Petroleum, a private exploration and production firm active in Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). He is the founder and first chief executive of Houston-based Apache International. Outside of the industry, Mossavar-Rahmani is involved in philanthropy, education and the arts. He is a Trustee of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art where is also chairman of the Visiting Committee on Islamic Art. He has published more than ten books and numerous articles on global energy markets. His contributions to and support for education are recognised in the naming of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard University and the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies at Princeton University.
