Speakers
Arnaud Pieton
CEO & Executive Director of the Board
Technip Energies
Arnaud Pieton is Chief Executive Officer of Technip Energies and an Executive Director of the Board.
Prior to this, he served as President of TechnipFMC’s Subsea business segment from 2018 to 2020. Between 2017 and 2018, he held the position of Executive Vice President People & Culture of TechnipFMC. From 2004 to 2017, Arnaud Pieton served in a number of leadership positions at Technip, including as President Asia Pacific Region and held assignments in Paris, Houston and Kuala Lumpur.
Prior to joining Technip in 2004, he held several positions at Serimax, part of Vallourec Group.
Arnaud Pieton holds a master’s degree in Material Science & Welding from Polytech Nantes and attended the executive education program at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
He serves as President of the France – Qatar council for the French Business Confederation.
Brian Sullivan
Executive Director
Ipieca
Brian joined Ipieca as the Executive Director in 2011 following a 23-year career in bp. He graduated in Metallurgy and Materials Science from Imperial College, London, UK and was recruited into bp’s Refining and Marketing international graduate programme in 1986.
During his time with bp he has had a varied career of technical, commercial, financial and leadership roles across the downstream value chain including crude and products trading, marine fuels, lubricants and alternative energy.
During his tenure at Ipieca, he has overseen the growth of the Association and leads their contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement and the Energy Transition. 2022 saw the launch of the Ipieca Principles, a new condition of membership promoting support for UN agreements and practices that align with them.
Brian is a Fellow of the Energy Institute.
Cindy Lim
CEO, Infrastructure Division
Keppel
Ms. Lim joined Keppel in 2001. She was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Keppel Infrastructure Holdings Pte Ltd (now Infrastructure Division, Keppel Ltd) on 15 February 2021.
In her over 20 years of service with Keppel, Ms. Lim has held various leadership positions. She was the Director of Group Corporate Development (GCD) of Keppel Corporation Limited and concurrently the Managing Director of Keppel Urban Solutions Pte Ltd (KUS), an end-to-end master developer of integrated smart and sustainable precincts and townships in the Asia-Pacific region. As the Director of GCD, Ms. Lim focused on identifying and extracting synergies across the operating business units within the Keppel Group, as well as harnessing both internal and external collaboration. Cindy is the founding Managing Director of KUS. She set up and led the unit to pursue and capture business opportunities arising from rapid urbanisation and the increasing global focus on liveability and sustainability.
Prior to these, Ms. Lim was the Executive Director of Infrastructure Services in Keppel Infrastructure, where she was responsible for the operations and maintenance business of energy and environmental infrastructure including combined cycle gas turbine power plants. waste-to-energy plants, water facilities, and district cooling systems. She has diverse experience in operations and process excellence, as well
as assets, people, and organisation management.
Her principal directorships include various Keppel operating subsidiaries, MET Holding AG, Cleantech Solar, Ammonia Energy Association, College Advisory Board of Nanyang Technological University, College of Engineering, Board of Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and a Fellow Member of The Institution of Engineers Singapore (IES).
Ms. Lim holds a degree in Mechanical & Production Engineering (Second Upper Honours) from the Nanyang Technological University and an Executive MBA from the Singapore Management University.
Claudio Descalzi
CEO
Eni
Eni’s CEO since May 2014. He is a member of the General Council and of the Advisory Board of Confindustria and Director of Fondazione Teatro alla Scala.
In 2014 he founded the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative together with other CEOs of major Oil & Gas companies to lead the industry’s response to climate change.
In May 2022 he was awarded the Atlantic Council’s Distinguished Business Leadership Award the extraordinary role he has played in the energy sector at an international level, for the technological transformation of the company aimed at complete decarbonisation by 2050 and for his contribution to the new challenge of Italian and European energy security.
Ernie Thrasher
Founder & CEO
Xcoal Energy & Resources
Ernie Thrasher has over fifty (50) years’ experience in the coal industry.
His coal experience began in 1974 working for a family owned mining company with operations in Maryland. Thrasher held various positions in mine operations and mine management through 1981.
Prior to forming Xcoal Energy & Resources in 2003, Thrasher spent twenty-two (22) years in various global marketing positions at Primary Coal and AMCI.
Xcoal markets U.S. and Australian origin coal to customers throughout the world, Xcoal activities include the financing and development of mining projects and related infrastructure projects.
Thrasher founded XLNG Energy & Resources in 2015, which is marketing LNG originating from global sources with emphasis on natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica Shale basins in the U.S., to customers in South America, Europe, and Asia.
Thrasher serves as a Director on the National Committee on U.S. China Relations, as a Director of the U.S.- India Strategic Partnership Forum, a Global Trustee for the Asia Society, a member of the Global Advisory Council of the Wilson Center, a member of the Global Advisory Board of the Kissinger Institute on China and the U.S., a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves on the President’s
Leadership Council-Boy Scouts of America.
Graham Henley
CEO
International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP)
Graham Henley was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) in September 2023.
Before this, Graham was SVP Projects and Engineering Capability in Shell, completing an international career that had taken him to the deserts of Oman, frozen seas off Sakhalin, and tropical heat of Nigeria, Malaysia, and Brunei. He has spent the last ten years in headquarters roles, initially as Vice President of Conventional Oil & Gas Projects, and thereafter leading the company’s global engineering and projects functions.
Graham has also led Shell’s businesses in Syria until the suspension of operations in the country in 2012 and thereafter undertook a short assignment as Vice President Government Relations International.
Graham was Chair of the IOGP Engineering Leadership Council for four years, and has been a member of the IOGP Board since 2019.
Dr. Hamed Soroush
CEO
TEVERRA
Dr Hamed Soroush is an energy leader, entrepreneur and subsurface expert with more than 25 years of experience in the energy industry. He has conducted or managed more than 300 consulting and research projects worldwide. Hamed is the Founder and CEO of TEVERRA providing strategic planning, leadership, and technical support for development and commercialization of leading-edge and value-add technologies for subsurface energy production and storage. Prior to that, he held several positions with companies such as Dong Energy, Shell, Weatherford, Senergy, and CSIRO. His current technical focus is on sustainable development of geothermal energy and subsurface storage projects using advanced geomechanics. Hamed holds a BSc in Mining Engineering, a MSc in Rock Mechanics, and a PhD in Petroleum Engineering from Curtin University in Australia. He has published numerous journal and conference papers and has been selected as SPE Distinguished Lecturer three time in 2012, 2017 and 2020.
Irina Gorbounova
Vice President M&A and Head of XCarb Innovation Fund
ArcelorMittal
Irina is a senior global leader focused on sustainability, impact investments, and decarbonisation. At ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading steel and mining company, she is responsible for executing strategic M&A deals and sustainable ventures in steel and mining. She also leads the investments of XCarb™, an innovation fund focused on companies developing breakthrough technologies to accelerate the steel industry’s transition to carbon neutral steelmaking.
Irina has about two decades of experience in breakthrough technology investments and impact investing and an expertise in mergers and acquisitions. She is on the board of numerous high-impact growing companies. She is a member of the Leadership council of the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, member of GCV Global Industry Sustainability Council and Board member & ESG Chair of Women in Renewable Energy Alliance.
Irina is passionate about a zero-carbon future and brings a forward-thinking perspective on how to achieve net zero goals.
John Hess
CEO
Hess Corporation
John B. Hess is Chief Executive Officer of Hess Corporation. Mr. Hess led the Fortune 500 company through a strategic transformation from an integrated oil company into a global independent E&P company positioned to deliver significant value to shareholders while safely and responsibly producing oil and gas to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. Mr. Hess is a member of the Board of Directors of Goldman Sachs, the Board of Trustees at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Chairman of the Board of the American Petroleum Institute. He previously served on the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board Quadrennial Review Task Force. Mr. Hess is also a member of The Business Council, the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and on the Board of Trustees at Mount Sinai Hospital and The Economic Club of New York.
Mr. Hess holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. A member of the Board of Dean’s Advisors at Harvard Business School, he was also Chairman of the Harvard Business School Campaign.
Kevin Gallagher
Managing Director & CEO
Santos
Kevin Gallagher has served Santos as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer since 2016.
Since joining Santos, Mr Gallagher has led transformation of the company into a reliable, high-performing business.
Under his leadership, Santos has become a top-20 ASX-listed company and a top-20 global independent oil and gas company with three successful, value-accretive mergers and acquisitions of adjacent assets.
Santos’ strategy is to backfill and sustain existing infrastructure and assets, decarbonize operations and develop low-carbon fuels as market demand evolves. Under Mr Gallagher’s leadership, Santos is well-advanced with the Barossa Gas Project and the Pikka Project in Alaska which will sustain stable production out to 2035 and beyond. Under his leadership, Santos has also advanced its decarbonization and low-carbon fuels’ objectives, making what Santos believes is the world’s first booking of carbon storage reserves and investing in one of the world’s largest CCS projects in South Australia’s Cooper Basin, which will start up in 2024.
Mr Gallagher is committed to ensuring Santos remains resilient, value accretive and at the leading edge of the global energy evolution. He has positioned Santos to leverage the critical role natural gas will play in delivering energy security to the Asian region through the energy transition to net-zero emissions.
Commencing his career in the oil and gas industry as a drilling engineer in Scotland working with Mobil in the North Sea, Mr Gallagher migrated to Australia to join Woodside in 1998. He was Chief Executive Officer at Clough Limited from 2011 until his appointment at Santos.
Lorenzo Simonelli
Chairman & CEO
Baker Hughes
Lorenzo Simonelli is Chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR). Baker Hughes is an energy technology company that combines innovation, expertise and scale to provide solutions for energy and industrial customers worldwide.
Simonelli was named Chairman of the Board in October 2017 and has been President and CEO since the Company’s creation in 2017, where he oversaw the successful merger of GE Oil & Gas with Baker Hughes Inc. Since 2013, he served as President and CEO of GE Oil & Gas.
Previously, Simonelli served as President and CEO of GE Transportation, a global transportation leader in the rail, mining, marine and energy storage industries. During his five-year tenure, he expanded and diversified GE Transportation by focusing on advanced technology manufacturing, intelligent control systems, and a diverse approach to new propulsion solutions.
He has also served as CFO Americas for GE Consumer & Industrial, as well as General Manager, Product Management for GE Appliances, Lighting, Electrical Distribution and Motors.
Simonelli joined GE’s Financial Management Program in 1994, where he worked on assignments in GE International, GE Shared Services, GE Oil & Gas, and Consolidated Financial Insurance.
He currently serves on the Board of Iveco Group N.V. He served on the Board of C3.ai, Inc. from 2020-2021 and on the Board of CNH Industrial N.V. from 2019-2021.
Originally from Tuscany, Italy, Simonelli is a Business & Economics Graduate from Cardiff University in South Wales. He is married and resides in Houston.
Dr. Lu Ruquan
President
CNPC Economics & Technology Research Institute
Dr. Lu Ruquan, Professorate Senior Economist with a Ph.D. in International Relations. As a renowned scholar in the field of international energy strategy, he currently serves as the President of the CNPC Economics & Technology Research Institute (CNPC ETRI) and Executive Deputy Director General of CNPC Research Center of China Top Think Tanks.
Dr. Lu has previously held the positions of Deputy Director General of the International Department of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Director of Strategic Development at CNODC. Since 2006, Dr. Lu has been mainly engaged in research on strategic management, energy policy, management reform, energy transition, and the Belt and Road Initiative. His contributions to the field have been widely recognized with the winning of three national-level first-prize awards for achievements in the innovation of enterprise management modernization. He has authored or co-authored several influential books including “Thoughts on Petroleum” “Oil and Gas under the Belt and Road Initiative” “Strategies in the Past Decade — A Manifesto by a Researcher on State Enterprise Strategies” “China’s Oil and Gas Business and the World under the Belt and Road Initiative” “Oil Power” and ” The First Decade of Jointly Building the “Belt and Road ”,Energy Cooperation Achieves Inclusive Development”. He has published more than 200 papers or articles on international relations, energy geopolitics, and enterprise internationalization, as well as strategies and management, etc.
Meg O’Neill
CEO & Managing Director
Woodside Energy
Meg O’Neill has 29 years’ experience in the global oil and gas industry, with positions and responsibilities extending across North America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Since being appointed Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Woodside Energy in 2021, Meg has overseen a merger that has transformed Woodside into the largest energy company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
The merger built on Woodside’s proud history as the founder of Australia’s LNG industry and delivered a geographically diverse portfolio of high-quality oil and gas assets.
Meg joined Woodside in 2018 as Chief Operations Officer, responsible for all of the company’s producing assets. In 2019, Meg was appointed Executive Vice President Development, overseeing the delivery of Woodside’s major growth projects in Australia and Senegal. In 2020, she also
assumed responsibility for Marketing.
Prior to joining Woodside, Meg worked for ExxonMobil in a variety of technical, operational and leadership roles based in Houston, Indonesia, Canada and Norway, which included responsibility for major projects in Angola, Nigeria, Tanzania and Mozambique.
Meg is Chair of the Australian oil and gas industry peak body, Australian Energy Producers (AEP), and serves on the boards of the American Petroleum Institute (API), Reconciliation Western Australia, and West Australian Symphony Orchestra. She is an honorary Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Australia, and a member of the National Petroleum Council (NPC), Chief Executive Women (CEW) and the University of Western Australia Business School Advisory Board.
Meg is originally from Boulder, Colorado, and is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with degrees in Ocean and Chemical Engineering.
Montri Rawanchaikul
CEO
PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP)
Montri Rawanchaikul is the Chief Executive Officer of PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP), Thailand’s national oil and gas exploration and production company. With over three decades of experience in the industry, he is dedicated to driving the company towards sustainable growth.
In recent years, Mr. Rawanchaikul has played a pivotal role in significant achievements for PTTEP, including establishing the company’s presence in the Middle East, overseeing successful acquisitions, and strengthening the management of all producing assets to ensure long-term growth in Thailand and neighboring regions.
Assuming the position of CEO in October 2021, Mr. Rawanchaikul is committed to leading PTTEP with a focus on reinforcing core exploration and production values for Thailand’s energy security, as well as long term value creation, while actively addressing the climate change agenda. He advocates for carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiatives, leveraging the company’s upstream capabilities to contribute to global environmental betterment.
Mr. Rawanchaikul holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics from Chiang Mai University, Thailand, a master’s degree in Exploration Geophysics from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and was recently conferred an honorary doctorate degree in Applied Geophysics from Chiang Mai University, Thailand.
His career commenced in 1991 as a geophysicist at PTTEP.
Musabbeh Al Kaabi
Executive Director of Low Carbon Solutions & International Growth
ADNOC
Musabbeh Al Kaabi leads ADNOC’s Low Carbon Solutions & International Growth Directorate. He is responsible for driving ADNOC’s investments in new energies and low carbon solutions, as well as its international growth, technology, and sustainability strategies.
Al Kaabi currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mubadala Energy. He is also a board member of Masdar, Tabreed, ADNOC Gas, ADNOC Drilling and Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi. In the past, he has served on the boards of several leading organizations including First Abu Dhabi Bank, Dolphin Energy, Emirates Global Aluminium, Borealis, Cepsa, NOVA Chemicals and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.
Musabbeh holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geophysical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines and a Master of Sciences degree in Geoscience from Imperial College, London.
Dr. Nick Wayth
Chief Executive
Energy Institute
Nick Wayth has held a broad career at the forefront of change in the energy industry as it adapts ever faster to tackling climate change. Since May 2021, Nick has been chief executive of the Energy Institute.
Prior to this he spent nearly 22 years at BP plc in a broad variety of executive and management roles. Latterly Nick held the post of Chief Development Officer of Alternative Energy, where he led BP’s strategy and business development in a broad range of renewable technologies.
Nick holds a PhD in Mechanical / Electrical Engineering and a degree in Mechanical Engineering, both from the University of Southampton. Nick is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and a Fellow of both the Energy Institute and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Nick is passionate about creating an inclusive and supportive environment for everyone.
Olivier Le Peuch
CEO
SLB
Olivier Le Peuch is SLB’s chief executive officer and has been since August 2019. Previously, he served as the company’s chief operating officer, as well as many other global management roles in his 35 years with SLB. These include executive vice president of reservoir and infrastructure; president of the Cameron group; president of completions; vice president of engineering, manufacturing, and sustaining; and president of Schlumberger Information Solutions.
Olivier began his long SLB career in 1987 as an electrical engineer. He spent his early years in custom software integration and development and in high-temperature electronics development for wireline equipment. Olivier held several leadership roles, including management of technology development in both Europe and the United States.
Olivier earned an electrical engineering degree from Bordeaux Engineering School and a research master’s degree in microelectronics from the Bordeaux University of Science.
Patrick Pouyanné
Chairman of the Board & CEO
TotalEnergies
A Graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and Chief Engineer of the French Corps des Mines, Patrick Pouyanné held various positions in the French Industry Ministry and in ministerial offices from 1989 to 1996, including Environment and Industry Technical Advisor to the Prime minister from 1993 to 1995 and Chief of Staff to the information technology and space minister from 1995 to 1996.
Patrick Pouyanné joined the company TotalEnergies (ex Total) in January 1997, with positions in Angola and Qatar in 1999.
In August 2002, he was named Senior Vice President, Finance, Economics and Information Systems in Exploration & Production, then Senior Vice President, Strategy, Business Development and R&D in Exploration & Production in 2006.
In January 2012, he was appointed President, Refining & Chemicals and member of the Executive Committee.
On October 22nd, 2014, the Board of Directors appointed Patrick Pouyanné as Chief Executive Officer, and he became simultaneously President of the Executive Committee.
On May 29th, 2015, Patrick Pouyanné was appointed at the Board of Directors and on December 16th, 2015, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer.
Patrick Pouyanné is also member of the Board of Cap Gemini, Association Française des Entreprises Privées (AFEP), Institut du Monde Arabe, Ecole Polytechnique and Institut Polytechnique of Paris. Patrick Pouyanné is President of the Alliance for Education, French association against dropping out of school. Patrick Pouyanné is President of the Association Française des Entreprises pour l’Environnement.
He has been a Knight of the Legion of Honor since April 2015, and Officer of the Legion of Honor since march 2024.
Ryan Lance
Chairman & CEO
ConocoPhillips
Ryan M. Lance has served as chairman and chief executive officer of ConocoPhillips, one of the world’s leading exploration and production companies, since 2012.
Ryan is a petroleum engineer with four decades of oil and natural gas industry experience in senior management and technical positions with ConocoPhillips, predecessor Phillips Petroleum and various divisions of ARCO. His past ConocoPhillips executive assignments included responsibility for international exploration and production, regional responsibility at various times for Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North America, and responsibility for technology, major projects, downstream strategy, integration and specialty functions.
Externally, Ryan is a board member of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and a trustee of both the George and Barbara Bush Foundation and PGA Reach. He is also an advocate for charities benefiting youth through his service on the board of Spindletop International. He is former chairman of the American Petroleum Institute currently serving on its Executive Committee, and currently Vice Chair of the National Petroleum Council and on the Business Roundtable Board.
Ryan is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from Montana Technological University in Butte in 1984.
Toshiya Nakahara
President & CEO
JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration
Toshiya Nakahara has been President and Chief Executive Officer of JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration since 2022 and, from April 2024, President of Japan Energy Resources Development Association as well. Throughout his 40-year carrier in the energy industry, he held a variety of executive positions at ENEOS, Japan’s largest refining and marketing company. His roles included Chief Financial Controller in London and New York, and Senior Vice President responsible for ENEOS Corporate Planning and ESG strategies. In April 2021, he joined JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration, the upstream division of ENEOS Group, as Executive Vice President to lead the company’s energy transition efforts. JX Nippon is one of the first companies to operate a commercial-scale CCUS project, the Petra Nova CCUS project in Texas, and is now committed to expanding its CCUS capabilities and capacities to the Asian market.
Vikram Kapur
Group President - Growth Business (Green Hydrogen, Carbon Credits, Digital) & International Business
ReNew
Vikram Kapur is a Senior Leader in the green energy/decarbonisation space and Group President at Renew – one of world’s leading green energy company. Vikram sits on the management board of Renew and reports into the Chairman of Renew.
In his role, he is responsible for building three large global businesses for Renew – Green hydrogen/Ammonia, Carbon Offsets and Digital; Vikram also leads Renew’s foray into International Markets and Commercial functions, leads a team of global green energy technologists with a view to invest in emerging green technologies and is responsible for defining the overall strategy of the company.
Prior to joining Renew, Vikram spent 17 years at Global Management Consulting firm McKinsey & Company. He was a Senior Partner at McKinsey and lead McKinsey’s Energy and Material practice and before that McKinsey’s Infrastructure practice in India. Vikram also chaired McKinsey’s Client committee in India and was part of the Risk and Investment committee at the India office.
Vikram is a Chemical Engineer, completing his degree from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-Delhi). He is also a MBA, specialised in Finance and Marketing from the prestigious Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, where he was on the Dean’s list.
He splits his time between London, US and Delhi, traveling extensively around the world meeting global leaders in green energy.
Wael Sawan
CEO
Shell
Wael was appointed CEO of Shell plc per 1 January 2023.
Wael was previously Director Integrated Gas, Renewables and Energy Solutions. He has been a member of the Executive Committee since 2019, when he was appointed Upstream Director.
Wael joined Shell in 1997 and has worked in each of Shell’s core business units: Upstream, Integrated Gas and Downstream. In his time with Shell, he has served in roles including Vice President for Commercial, New Business and LNG in Qatar, Managing Director and Chairman of the Qatar Shell companies and Executive Vice President of Shell’s Deep Water business.
Wael was born in Lebanon and grew up in the United Arab Emirates and Canada. He holds a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from McGill University in Montreal and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He lives in the UK, is married to Nicole and they have three sons.