AIEN announces 2022 award winners
London, September 28, 2022 -- The annual Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN) Awards celebrate impactful industry achievements, underpinned by international energy negotiations and transactions that promote and embody the principles of the AIEN in the energy industry. This year, the AIEN has recognised achievements in five categories: Deal of the Year, Venture of the Year, Discovery of the Year, Energy Innovation and CSR Campaign of the Year.
J Scott Porter, President AIEN, comments, “It is important to recognise outstanding achievements. Nominated by AIEN members with winners selected by an independent committee, the awards provide a ground-up view of where projects have impacted people in the various categories. While there is still emphasis on traditional oil & gas, and Deal of the Year remains the most acclaimed award, we are also reflecting the change in focus in our membership with two new awards covering CSR and Energy Innovation to recognise their work and interest in these important areas.”
Deal of the Year
The 2022 winner is the BHP Petroleum and Woodside Petroleum merger. In 2021, BHP Group (BHP) and Woodside Petroleum Ltd (Woodside) signed a binding share sale agreement for the merger of BHP’s oil and gas portfolio with Woodside, whereby Woodside would acquire the entire share capital of BHP Petroleum International Pty Ltd in exchange for new Woodside shares. The merger looked to create ‘a global energy company with the scale and opportunity to help supply the energy needed for global growth and development in a rapidly decarbonising world’.
Venture of the year
This year’s winner is Qatar Energy Farm into Shell Namibia Exploration Blocks. In April 2021, Qatar Energy (QE) farmed into two exploration blocks offshore Namibia through an agreement with Shell. Under the agreement, QE will hold a 45% participating interest in the PEL 39 exploration licence pertaining to Block 2913A and Block 2914B, while Shell will hold a 45% interest, and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia will hold the remaining 10% interest.
Discovery of the year
This award is given to a company who has made a highly significant oil or gas discovery, or an addition to discovered resources through exploration and appraisal activities. This year, the award has been given to ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC Whiptail Discovery, Guyana. In July 2021, two Whiptail wells being drilled simultaneously encountered 246 feet and 167 feet of net pay in high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs. This is a significant new oil discovery that could form the basis of future development in the Stabroek Block, adding to the previous recoverable resource estimate of approximately 9 billion oil equivalent barrels.
Energy Innovation
The recipients of this award are those who are demonstrating true leadership in innovative ways in the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable future. The 2022 winner is Petronas for its first carbon neutral LNG cargo delivery to Shikoku Electric. The maiden carbon neutral LNG cargo was delivered from the PETRONAS LNG complex (PLC) in Bintulu and was received at the Sakaide LNG terminal in Shikoku Island, Japan. PETRONAS has offset the estimated life cycle carbon footprint of the LNG cargo through renewables-based carbon credits for the emissions generated form upstream gas exploration and productions, transportation, liquefaction, and shipping of the cargo.
CSR Campaign of the Year
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Campaign of the Year Award illuminates the ever-important convergence of profitability and company values. This year the award has been given to TotalEnergies, CNOOC, Uganda National Oil Company & Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation for the Lake Albert resources development project in Uganda & Tanzania. In accordance with its guiding principle of transparency in engaging with civil society, TotalEnergies published studies, independent third-party reviews, and social and environmental action plans related to the Tilenga project in Uganda and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline project in Uganda and Tanzania. Environmental and social impacts assessment studies have been conducted and approved by the Ugandan and Tanzanian authorities, which incorporate the stringent performance standards of the International Finance Corporation. In line with TotalEnergies’ “Avoid – Reduce – Compensate” principles that underpin its Biodiversity Policy, it voluntarily limited the Tilenga project’s footprint in Uganda’s Murchison Falls park.
“AIEN is expanding its scope to reflect the need for energy transition, moving from being petroleum negotiators to energy negotiators. Oil & gas will remain part of the energy mix for years to come and is a critical to supporting the energy transition, but we have evolved because our membership has evolved,” says John Bridges, Executive Director AIEN. “Our members are from 110 different countries, many of whom are working on active energy transition initiatives, such as carbon capture and hydrogen projects. We are providing the bridge between them, bringing them together and facilitating open and honest discussion on the way forward. The awards are from our members, for our members.”
-ENDS-
Notes to editors
The nominees for the awards were:
Deal of the Year
Shell U.S. Permian Sale to ConocoPhillips
Oxy Sale of Ghana Assets to Kosmos Energy and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation
BHP Petroleum & Woodside Petroleum Merger
Venture of the Year
Namibia: Qatar Petroleum Farmin to Shell Namibia Exploration Blocks
Egypt: Eni Settlement Agreement with Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, and Naturgy for Restart of Damietta LNG Plant
UK: Mitsui & Co., Ltd. investment in Storegga to develop the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage Project in the North Sea
Discovery of the Year
Guyana: ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC for their Whiptail discovery
Suriname: TotalEnergies, Apache and Staatsolie for their Keskesi East-1 Discovery
USA: Shell and Repsol for their Blacktip North discovery in the Perdido Corridor of the Gulf of Mexico
Energy Innovation
Petronas for its first carbon neutral LNG cargo delivery to Shikoku Electric
Storegga & Carbon Engineering for their development of UK’s first large-scale Direct Air Capture facility
ExxonMobil & Scepter, Inc. for their collaboration to deploy satellite technology for real-time methane emissions detection
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Campaign of the Year
Chandler MHM Limited for its School Vegetable Garden Campaign in Thailand
TotalEnergies, CNOOC, UNOC and TPDC for the Lake Albert development project in Uganda & Tanzania
Hess for its Covid-19 “Dinner’s On Us” program in Houston
Media Contacts:
Roberto Chiarotti, r.chiarotti@bcmpublicrelations.com, Tel: +44 7452 952 343
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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