Speakers

Dr Zaid Khamis Al-Siyabi
Director General of Oil & Gas Exploration and Production, Ministry Of Oil And Gas, Sultanate Of Oman

Dr Al Siyabi holds a PhD in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, Scotland. He has held various positions and assumed a number of assignments at the Ministry of Oil and Gas including leading a number of negotiations in PSCs, GPSA's, OSA's, LNG Contracts. Dr Al Siyabi sits on various Boards of Government companies working in the energy sector and chairs a number of technical, HR, Finance and audit committee with number of operators. He was recently appointed as the Chairmen of Oman Gas Company.

Mohamed Al-Harthy
CEO, OPAL, Oman

Mohamed is an explorer and geologist with over 27 years experience in petroleum Exploration and Production business. He has gone through various technical, managerial and leadership positions, with a range of roles and responsibilities. Before this he was the Principal Exploration Geologist with Shell Upstream International with new exploration business development in the Middle East and North African region and base in Dubai. He was also Exploration Manager for Shell Pakistan NOJV's and held the role of Business Opportunity Manager for other projects. Previous to this posting, Mohamed held the position of the Gas Exploration Manager with PDO, NFE Oil Exploration Team Leader, Head of Training & staff development Planner in Exploration Department. He also spent some 4 years with Shell Egypt New Venture as a senior Explorationist.

Dr. Jonathan Evans
GM, BP, Oman

Jonathan joined BP in 1990 following a PhD and Post-Doc in geoscience. He spent 10 years in technical roles within BP's Exploration & Production businesses before moving to the Corporate Centre, initially in Mergers & Acquisitions, then in the Group Strategy team. In 2003 he became Commercial Manager for the Grangemouth Refining and Petrochemicals Complex in Scotland where he managed the transition following BP's sale of its Olefins business to Ineos.

Between 2005-2009 Jonathan managed BP's E&P business in India and offshore Pakistan before moving to become General Manager of BP Oman in May 2009. BP's major activity in Oman involves appraising the giant Khazzan-Makarem tight gas accumulations in Block 61. Extended well testing of BP's wells began in March 2011 and a decision on full-field development is expected by early 2013.

Yousuf Al-Ojaili
Chief Executive Officer, Oman Gas Co. SAOC, Oman

Al Ojaili holds a Bachelor Degree in mechanical engineering from University of Tulsa, USA and Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Sultan Qaboos University. He has worked in Petroleum Development Oman for over 18 years, which included a 4-year assignment to Brunei Shell Petroleum, before taking over the Oman Gas Company CEO responsibility in 2005.

In addition to above role, Al Ojaili sits in the Joint Management Committees of BP Oman & Oman Oil E&P Company's Abu Tubul gas development projects, is a member in Government Gas Technical Committee which oversees the PDO Gas development, is a Board member in Takamul Investment Company (owned by Oman Oil Company and Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority) and is a member of Sultan Qaboos University Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Advisory Board .

Maktoom Rashid Al-Matani
GM – Engineering & Technical Services, Oman Gas Co. SAOC, Oman

Maktoom Al-Matani joined OGC in 2008 as General Manager for Engineering and Technical Services. He has a total experience of 18 years through his work with Petroleum Development Oman and other companies in the Oil , Gas and Petrochemical industries and various major projects. He has contributed in constructing, managing, and operating the LNG upstream facilities, Saih Nihayda cluster and Kauther cluster. In addition to OGC job, Maktoom is also a member of the Technical Committees of both BP Oman and Oman Oil Company E&P Abu Tubul gas developments. Maktoom holds a Bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Wales, UK.

Raoul Restucci
Managing Director, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), Oman

PDO is the operator of an oil exploration and production joint venture between the Government of Oman (60%), Shell (34%), Total (4%) and Partex (2%). PDO is also the operator of a substantial upstream gas business on behalf of the Government of Oman (100%). PDO's total daily production of oil and gas is in excess of 1 million barrels of oil equivalent. It has a total annual budget in excess of $5 billion. It is a high activity land based E&P company with 5,800 staff and some 30,000 contractors. Prior to joining PDO, Raoul Restucci was Executive Vice President for Upstream International with responsibility for Shell's businesses in the Middle East and North Africa and was also a member of Royal Dutch / Shell's Upstream International Leadership Team since July 2009. In his prior assignments, Raoul was Executive Vice President for Shell Exploration & Production for Middle East and South Asia; Chief Executive Officer for the Americas with responsibility for Shell's exploration and production businesses in the western hemisphere (North and South America). Prior to that, he was President and CEO of Shell Exploration & Production Company (U.S.A.). Before that, he was Regional Business Director for Royal Dutch/Shell in South East Asia, including China and Australasia.

Salim bin Zahir Al Sibani
CEO, Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production LLC (OOCEP), Oman

He has been in Oil and Gas industry for more than 22 years. During this time he has acquired vast experience in Project Management, Business Development, Business Planning and Investments Evaluation, Oil & Gas Facilities engineering from concept to initial operation. This comes from his assignments in Petroleum Development Oman, Shell International E&P, Oman Oil Company and finally Oman Oil Exploration & Production taking positions as Site Engineer in 1989, Project Manager, Head of E&P Investments and finally CEO of the newly established upstream subsidiary of Oman Oil S.A.O.C. - Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production LLC (OOCEP) in 2008. Mr Sibani is also the Chairman of Abraj Energy Services.

Ivano Iannelli
CEO, Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE), UAE

Ivano is widely acknowledged as one of the world's foremost experts in the fields of Sustainability and Carbon Emissions Management.

His particular skillset is the establishment of Public Private Partnerships, whereas he leverages public incentives and thematic areas to generate private sector involvement and synergy. Amongst the several, the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, under the Supreme Energy Council, leverages the revenue stream from Carbon credits to improve the business efficiency and environmental performance of companies and organizations.

As Senior Management of the United Nations and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, his career has taken him across the globe, and he has managed important projects under highly challenging circumstances, in countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan and Mozambique. He has frequently provided a vital interface between governments, NGO's and the private sector. As Chief of Projects for UNOPS, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Dubai Based Regional Hub and was at the forefront of all emergency and relief operations of the UN in the region.

Ivano has worked in numerous high profile projects in renewable energy, waste management and defense industries. His most recent notable achievements include the Yas Island Integrated Waste Management Plan and the Energy from Waste Heat project in Ras Al Khaimah.

Vahid Fotuhi
Solar Director for the Middle East and North Africa, BP, UAE

Vahid is accountable for maintaining and expanding solar partnerships with governments in the MENA region.

Vahid is also the co-founder and Chairman of the Emirates Solar Industry Association (ESIA), a regional NGO that promotes solar power.

From 2004 until 2007, Vahid was based in Algeria where he was in charge of Government Affairs for BP's oil and gas division. Previously, Vahid held managerial roles with Energy Intelligence, World Economic Forum and Transparency International.

Musab Al-Mahruqi
CEO, Orpic, Oman

Musab Al-Mahruqi is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Orpic, the newly integrated Oman Oil Refining and Petroleum Industries Company which include in its portfolio 2 refineries and 2 petrochemical plants (polypropylene and aromatics).

He holds a master degree in Business Administration from Edinburgh Management School (Scotland) and a BEng in Chemical Engineering from University of Nottingham in the UK. Prior to being tasked by the government to spearhead this integrated new economic entity, he was with Oman Oil Company S.A.O.C. as Chief Investment Officer and has actively contributed to the growth of Oman Oil portfolio in the past 7 years in several roles including Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Project Finance Manager roles. Prior to joining Oman Oil Company, Mr. Al-Mahruqi had been working as a field engineer in Schlumberger Oilfield Services, an integrated international oilfield service company and has had assignments in West Africa and the Caspian Sea.

Dr. Steven Griffiths
Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, UAE

Dr. Steven Griffiths is the Executive Director of Institute Initiatives and Professor of Practice at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, a private, not-for-profit, independent, graduate-research institute located in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

At Masdar Institute Dr. Griffiths has responsibility for developing strategic relationships with industry, government and academia and oversees the Institute’s Office of Sponsored Programs, Technology Transfer Office, and Research Centers. His overarching role is to establish and develop external research collaborations with an emphasis on accelerating the development of a knowledge-based economy in Abu Dhabi and bringing sustainable technologies to the market. He serves on the Emirates Solar Industry Association (ESIA) steering committee, Young Future Energy Leaders (YFEL) steering committee, Zayed Future Energy Prize Selection committee and the Abu Dhabi Science, Technology and Innovation R&D Taskforce.

Prior to his role at Masdar Institute, Dr. Griffiths was the Executive Director of the MIT Technology and Development Program’s MIT/Abu Dhabi Program and the founding Executive Vice President of Light Pharma Inc. In these roles he worked in the United States, India and the Middle East leading the development and implementation of technical and strategic relationships. His interests and expertise are process design, technology strategy and financial analysis in the areas of information technology, biotechnology, and advanced energy technologies.

Dr. Griffiths holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Mohammad Husain
CEO, Equate, Kuwait

Gong Changli
CEO, Daleel Petroleum, Oman

Tim Fox
Head of Research & Chief Economist, Emirates NBD, UAE

Badr Jafar
Crescent Petroleum, UAE

Robert Smith
FACTS Global Energy, UAE

Robin Mills
Manaar Energy, UAE

Fareed Al-Asaly
Head Of G-20 Energy And WTO Groups, Ministry Of Petroleum And Mineral Resources, KSA

Awwad Al Harthi
Corporate Planning, Saudi Aramco, KSA