TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA CONOCOPHILLIPS Qatar on Wednesday held a corporate luncheon in honour of Gary Sykes, who replaces Erec Isaacson as its new president.

The company’s associates, employees and their families attended the event that was held at The Four Seasons hotel, in Doha, said a press release issued by the company.

Speaking at the event, the outgoing president Erec Isaacson said, “It is with great sadness that I leave Qatar to my new assignment as president and general manager of ConocoPhillips Indonesia. As I look back at my term as ConocoPhillips president in Qatar for the last two years, I am proud of the achievements that were made. It is during this period that our long term partnership with Qatar Petroleum successfully realised the inauguration of Qatargas 3 in November 2010.” He said that he was also grateful that ConocoPhillips had maintained its engagement within the Qatari community in partnership with various NGOs. He said that the company intends to keep its commitment as part of its sustainable development outreach within its host communities and in support of Qatar’s 2030 Vision and national development plans.

“I would like to present my sincerest gratitude and appreciation to the Emir His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani who has been very supportive of our joint enterprise. I am also grateful for the privilege of working with the Qatar Petroleum team first headed by Chairman of the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority HE Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiyah and subsequently the dedicated management of the Minister of Energy and Industry HE Dr Mohammad bin Saleh al Sada,” he said.

Isaacson thereafter introduced Gary Sykes, the new ConocoPhillips president to the attendees at the event. “I am particularly happy that Gary Sykes who succeeds me as president of our Qatar business unit is bringing a wealth of technical and managerial expertise,” he said.

Sykes joined Conoco in Aberdeen in 1990, where he worked as a reservoir engineer in the North Sea Operations. He moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1997, where he worked as the subsurface lead for Operated Assets in the South China Sea.

In 2001, he was assigned to work in Houston as a Petroleum Engineer in the Subsurface Technology prior to his first assignment in Canada in 2003 as the Frontier Exploration Manager.

Following an assignment in Oil Sands as Exploitation Manager, he relocated to Anchorage, Alaska, to take up the role of the Manager of the Exploration Evaluation and Operations division in 2007.

Sykes relocated back to Canada in 2009 for his last post as Vice President, Canadian Arctic, ConocoPhillips Canada.

In his comments, Gary Sykes said, “It is indeed a pleasure to be taking-over from Erec Isaacson.

ConocoPhillips has always placed great importance on its Qatar operations and we will continue to do so in the future. We have every hope of further expanding our business outreach in the country and the region and will certainly pursue venues of cooperation with Qatar.” “We have also every intention of maintaining our corporate responsibility outreach within the Qatar community and will be looking forward to opportunities in the fields of education, health and community development,” he added.

Gary Sykes had an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from Glasgow University and a Masters degree in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.