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Key appointments in Shell’s regional strategy
Shell has made two new appointments following the retirement of Ron van den Berg as Executive Vice President for Exploration and Production Middle East and Shell Country Chairman for Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
In an expanded role, Raoul Restucci has been appointed Executive Vice President for Middle East, Russia and CIS of Shell E&P Middle East.
The post of Country Chairman for Dubai and Northern Emirates has gone to Charles Watson, and is additional to his role as the Dubai-based Executive Vice President for Gas and Power, covering North Africa, Middle East and South Asia. He will also serve in a co-ordination role as “cluster chair” for Iraq, Jordan and Yemen, Shell said in a statement.
Formerly the Executive Vice President for E&P for the Americas, Restucci has served Shell in many senior positions. He was appointed as President and CEO of Shell E&P based in Houston in 2001, prior to which he was the Regional Business Director for the South East Asia Region.
Restucci’s association with the Middle East began in 1986, when he worked as head of Economics and Planning with Qatar Petroleum and later as Petroleum Engineering Manager at Al Furat Petroleum Company in Syria.
“This is an exciting time to work in the region as a number of projects in different countries are progressing well, and new opportunities are springing up,” said Restucci. “The region forms a key element in Shell’s strategy for exploration and production. We have seen a huge potential in countries like Egypt, Syria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Libya and Kazakhstan, to name a few. Delivering high quality service and seizing the growing opportunities will drive our strategy for the region.”
Restucci and his wife, Kim, who have three children, have made Dubai their home.
Commenting on his new role, Watson said: “This is a fascinating time for oil and gas in this region, where Shell’s presence has increased significantly in recent years. This trend is set to continue with large-scale, integrated gas projects just announced in Qatar and Libya, in addition to other major opportunities in the pipeline.
“We also have a thriving downstream business - involved in selling lubricants, supplying aviation fuel, trading and chemicals - which is run from Dubai. With Shell’s E&P and Gas and Power offices having moved to Dubai, combined with our downstream and the other offices already here, we now have over 500 people working in the emirate.”
Watson, who arrived in Dubai in February last year, joined Shell in 1983, having worked in the oil, gas and construction industries in Hong Kong, Algeria and Saudi Arabia. He has also served as Deputy Business Director for Shell’s E&P business for the Middle East, based in The Hague; later as General Manager UK Retail; and as General Manager, Quadrant, which is now a part of Shell Energy Europe.
Class of 10 begins on-the-job training
The 10 participants in the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) Challenge – flagship of the group’s corporate social responsibility activity – have moved to the final phase of the programme.
Six male and four female candidates have entered their final month with ENOC, during which they will receive on-the-job training. For this final phase they have individually been assigned to departments in the group.
The trainees will receive a salary for the period and the best achiever during programme will receive a special financial award in recognition of his or her effort. Hussain Sultan, ENOC Group’s Chief Executive and Board Member said: “I have been hugely impressed by the student’s energy, their enthusiasm and their determination. It shows the huge potential there is among the youth of the UAE. We have a growing corporate sector that can meet their needs and use their talents. As corporate leaders we have to recognise our responsibilities to deliver these opportunities and create access to them.”
Established in 1993 as a wholly-owned company of
the government of Dubai,
ENOC aims to develop downstream and upstream activities in the oil and gas sector and beyond and to encourage the economic diversification of Dubai and the UAE.
New consultants strengthen international team
Corporate and commercial legal firm Hugh Fraser International (HFI) has appointed US, Australian and Russian consultants and formed a strategic alliance in Indonesia. HFI s recruited US attorney Virginia La Torre Jeker who has worked in New York, Hong Kong and Dubai and will focus on corporate and banking assignments.
Also joining the Dubai-based firm is Australian lawyer Erin Kiem who is dual qualified in New South Wales and Victoria and has previously worked in Sydney and Melbourne.
Erin will work on commercial contracts and corporate transactions and will also support HFI’s Ventures International business support team who are working with a number of Australian oil and gas sector companies.
The Ventures International unit, which brings together innovative oil and gas companies and potential investors, has spread its wings to Russia. St Petersburg-based Natalia Vorobieva will provide an advisory service for companies looking to invest in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union.
Ms Vorobieva is managing partner of St Petersburg Bridges consultancy
and has worked on over 15 foreign investment projects in Russia over the past two years.
HFI’s Indonesian links have been strengthened with the formation of a new strategic alliance with the MMIK law practice in Jakarta. The alliance will be led by HFI’s Hugh Fraser and MMIK’s Dina Martoatmodjo and will provide a combination of HFI’s international expertise with MMIK’s Indonesian corporate and commercial law capability.
HFI’s professional team, led by Scottish qualified lawyer Hugh Fraser, has now grown to include lawyers qualified in the UK, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, India, Qatar, Iran, Indonesia, USA and Australia.
Managing partner Hugh Fraser said: “These latest appointments and our new Indonesian alliance underscore our ambition to build a multi-jurisdictional and multi-cultural team that can deliver for clients of all nationalities.
“Having such a strong international team is also a great strength for our Ventures International unit which is focused on internationalisation projects in the Middle East
and has strategic objectives in North Africa, the Caspian and
Far East.”
More Omani technicians graduate
A further 32 Omanis have graduated from Petroleum Development Oman’s innovative Technician Omanisation Programme. The graduates were presented with their certificates by PDO’s Managing Director John Malcolm.
Malcolm said: “We have a long and admirable record of developing young Omanis. The Technician Omanisation Programme is something of which we are justifiably proud. The oil and gas business is highly technical, and the fact that PDO is highly Omanised is testimony to the effectiveness of our training programmes.”
The programme was developed to meet PDO’s need for Omani maintenance technicians and production operators. Trainees are recruited from the ranks of graduates from technical colleges.
The two-year programme starts with a six month foundation course designed to raise trainees’ level of English and their awareness of oil and gas production processes and equipment. Health, safety and environment themes are included in all aspects of their course. For the remainder of the two years, the programme follows a repeated cycle of on and off-job training.
A total of 164 graduates have now completed the scheme. Currently, 109 trainees are undergoing training with a further 50 due to commence in September.
Senior appointment triggered by growth
In response to significant growth during the past two years, AnTech, an engineering design and manufacturing company serving the international upstream oil and gas industries, has appointed Aziz Rashid to the position of Engineering Manager.
Since 2003, AnTech says its turnover has increased by 30 per cent each year and the number of employees has doubled. The company attributes this growth to market demand for its line of specialist coiled tubing, downhole and completion tools, as well as its testing and certification services
In his new role, Aziz is responsible for leading the company’s growing Engineer Group to the highest standard, particularly in terms of customer satisfaction and technical competence.
With 22 years experience in the electronics and defence industries, Aziz has led a distinguished engineering career specialising in product development and overall business management.
Originally from Iraq, Aziz holds several degrees: an MSc in solid state physics from the University of Leeds, a PhD in semiconductor physics from the University of Bath and a post-doctoral Fellowship in physical chemistry from University of Exeter.
Petrofac appoints chairman
Petrofac, the oil and gas facilities service provider,has appointed Rodney Chase as Chairman. Chase, 62, spent 38 years at BP of which 11 were served on the board. He was Deputy Group Chief Executive on his retirement from the group in May 2003 having held the position since 1999. He also spent time as CEO of the Exploration and Production and Marketing and Refining divisions.
Chase is the Deputy Chairman of Tesco and is also on the Board of Computer Sciences Corporation and Nalco Company in the US. He has previously held positions as a board member of BOC and Diageo.
Ayman Asfari, Chief Executive, Petrofac, said: “We have been seeking a high calibre chairman since the retirement of Ralph Martin and we are delighted to announce the appointment of Rodney Chase. Rodney combines a depth and breadth of industry knowledge with many years working at the highest level within international blue chip companies. As the company develops and grows we will undoubtedly benefit from his leadership and experience.”
Chase said: “This is a genuinely international business operating at the heart of one of the world’s key strategic industries. I was delighted to accept the invitation to lead the board and look forward to working closely with Ayman and his team.”
Top job changes at Keppel
Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) has announced the appointment of Hoe Eng Hock as the Executive Director of Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd., following the retirement of Goh Boon Kiat. Hoe, 54, will oversee the business operations and strategic development of Keppel Singmarine, a world leader in the construction of offshore support vessels and harbour tugs.
Hoe has more than 30 years of marine industry experience and is currently serving as the Vice President of the Association of Singapore Marine Industries, apart from being a member of industry associations such as The Institute of Marine Engineers, UK, the Institute of Chartered Engineer (UK) and the American Bureau of Shipping.
The company has also appointed Yick Ping Wong, 55, as the Executive Director (Caspian) to oversee the growth and development of Keppel O&M’s business in the Caspian Sea region. He will be stationed in Aktau, Kazakhstan.
With over 30 years in the Keppel Group, Yick started his career with Keppel FELS Limited in 1974 before coming on board Keppel Integrated Engineering Limited as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in January 2000. He has over 20 years of experience in engineering design, engineering management, project management, production management, general management and large scale infrastructure project investments.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation, Keppel O&M is a global leader in offshore rigs and ship repair and conversion as well as a specialised shipbuilder. It has a global network of 16 yards in the Asia Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, the Caspian Sea, Middle East and the North Sea regions.
New role for Ayman
The Middle East operations of Oracle have appointed Ayman Abouseif Managing Director for the Gulf States. Abouseif will be responsible for driving sales and marketing for the Oracle E-Business Suite as well as the company’s business intelligence solutions and technology platform.
One of the most recognised spokespeople in the region’s technology industry, Abouseif joined Oracle in 1998 and was most recently Senior Marketing Director, Oracle Middle East and Africa. Prior to joining Oracle, he held a number of sales management roles for NCR in the Middle East. He has a bachelor’s degree in science from Ein Shams University in Egypt as well as a master’s in business administration from the University of Edinburgh
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