2025 Winners of the AIEN Awards
Istanbul, June 11, 2025 -- The annual Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN) Awards celebrate significant achievements in the energy industry, and honor the deals, projects, and people whose work exemplifies the values of AIEN – advancing the practice of international energy negotiation and shaping the future of the industry.
This year, AIEN has highlighted accomplishments in five key categories: Deal of the Year, Discovery of the Year, Venture of the Year, Energy Transition Initiative of the Year, and CSR Campaign of the Year, recognizing achievements from January 1 to December 31, 2024.
Luis Miranda, Chair of the 2025 AIEN Awards Committee, comments, “The AIEN Awards Dinner is a highly-valued event that celebrates the outstanding achievements of our members and their organizations across the global energy landscape. These awards honor meaningful accomplishments rooted in international energy negotiation and deal-making, and provide a platform to recognize innovation, leadership, and excellence in action.”
Deal of the year
The Deal of the Year award recognizes an outstanding and noteworthy M&A transaction and the 2025 winner is ExxonMobil's acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources. The merger of ExxonMobil and Pioneer creates an unconventional business with the largest, high-return development potential in the Permian Basin.
Venture of the Year
This year’s Venture of the Year has been awarded to Shell and Equinor’s UK North Sea oil and gas joint venture. The two companies have combined their UK offshore oil and gas assets and expertise to form a new company which will be the UK North Sea’s biggest independent producer. The incorporated joint venture (IJV) will be set up to sustain domestic oil and gas production and security of energy supply in the UK.
Discovery of the Year
This award is given to a company that has made a highly significant oil or gas discovery, or an addition to discovered resources through exploration and appraisal activities. For 2025, the award goes to Kuwait Petroleum Corporation for its Al-Nokhatha field discovery. The Al-Nokhatha field is located east of the Kuwaiti island of Failaka, with oil reserves estimated at 3.2 billion barrels and is equivalent to the country’s entire production in three years.
Energy Transition Initiative of the Year
This award recognizes those leading the way in reducing carbon impacts through technology and innovation or creating targets to manage performance and aligning with global energy transition commitments. This year’s winner is Storegga, PETRONAS and ADNOC's joint study and development agreement for saline aquifers in the Penyu basin, Malaysia. The venture is targeting at least 5 million tonnes per annum of CO2 capture and storage capacity by 2030 to support Malaysia's long-term ambition to develop world-class storage sites and establish itself as a global leader in CCS.
CSR Campaign of the Year
This award recognizes organizations that have demonstrated positive influence on surrounding communities, promote teamwork toward sustainable, long-term impacts, and encourage active employee participation beyond financial contributions. This year’s award has been given to TotalEnergies, bp, Shell, and Equinor's Investment in Affordable Energy Access in Sub-Saharan Africa and South/Southeast Asia. The four companies pledged to invest $500 million to increase access to affordable energy, focusing primarily on sub-Saharan Africa, South, and Southeast Asia. This initiative includes domestic solar energy systems, micro-electricity grids, and modern cooking fuels, promoting sustainable development and improving the quality of life in underserved regions.
“These awards highlight the transformative projects that are helping to shape the future of energy. This year’s submissions have been remarkable, reflecting the depth of talent, ambition, and progress driving the sector forward,” says Miranda.
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Media Contacts:
Katy Moore, k.moore@bcmpublicrelations.com, Tel: +44 7584 235 806
About AIEN:
The Association of International Energy Negotiators, formerly Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, is an independent not-for-profit professional membership association that supports international energy negotiators around the world enhancing their effectiveness and professionalism in the international energy community. Founded in 1981, AIEN has roughly 2,800 members in more than 110 countries, representing international and national energy companies, governments, law firms and academic institutions.
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