Derek Magness, Managing Director, Chevron Eurasia Business Unit
Derek holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana State University and is pursuing an executive management degree at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Derek joined Chevron in 1997 as an electrical engineer. As Managing Director, Derek Magness is responsible for Chevron’s operations in various countries, including the companies’ interests in Tengizchevroil, Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V. and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. In September 2018, he served as Managing Director, Chevron’s South Africa Business Unit, overseeing Chevron’s liquefied natural gas and natural gas exploration, development and commercial operations, as well as crude oil and natural gas production in Angola, Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Derek was also vice chairman of the board of directors of Angola LNG Ltd. Previously, he served as general manager of operations for Chevron’s South African business unit.
As general manager of Chevron’s Europe business unit from 2012 to 2015, Magness surveyed exploration and development activities in Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland, the United Kingdom and Bulgaria. From 2009 to 2012, Magness was deputy managing director of Chevron’s Eurasia business unit, responsible for exploration and development activities in Kazakhstan, Turkey and Azerbaijan. From 2005 to 2009, Magness was director of operations for Chevron’s Bangladesh business unit, responsible for engineering, drilling, engineering and operations in Bangladesh. Other positions include work in mining, drilling and execution, engineering, major capital projects and Chevron Information Technology. He is married and has two daughters. Chevron, as a key investor in the oil and gas industries of Kazakhstan contributes to the development of the industry. Derek has directly been influencing the development of the oil and gas industry of Kazakhstan.
Cecile Raulin, Managing Director, ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc.
Cecile graduated from the Paris Institute of Political Sciences in political and social sciences (1998) and the ESSEC Business School (Paris, 2002).
Cecile began her career at ExxonMobil France in 2002 as a logistics analyst in the refining and supply chain. She held various positions in this area in Paris, Brussels, and Fairfax.
Since 2013, she has held positions in exploration and production, including as a global gas logistics manager in London.
Since 2016, she has been involved in commercial issues, developing the exploration and production business in Houston. She participated in negotiations to discuss PSA when entering new countries. She was responsible for developing the domestic gas strategy in several enterprises around the world.
Since 2019 — Commercial Manager in Exploration and Production in Vietnam. Led negotiations and business development in the Ka Voi Han project.
since 2020 – Managing Director of ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Vietnam Ltd.
since 2022 – Managing Director of Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc. Responsible for oil production operations and oversaw pipeline transportation in Cameroon.
since 2023 – Commercial Director of ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc. In her current position – since June 1 of this year.
In her current position, Cecile contributes to the development of the oil and gas industry in Kazakhstan. ExxonMobil is a significant investor in the oil and gas industry in Kazakhstan and has stakes in key industry projects such as Tengiz, Kashagan and CPC.
Seger Hoytink, Managing Director, Eni Kazakhstan
Prior to his current position, he was Head of Commercial Negotiations at Eni SpA (Milan), responsible for the organization and processes of Eni’s global negotiations, including the Upstream Oil & Gas commercial activities, as well as the Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) commercial activities, Agribusiness and Refining as part of Eni’s business transformation.
Seger is an experienced energy professional with over twenty-five years of experience in international negotiations on O&G matters worldwide, in the countries where Eni has its current Upstream Oil & Gas operations.
Previously, Seger held several key positions within Eni, including Senior Vice President Legal Affairs for Exploration, Production and Procurement, Vice President Legal Affairs for Eastern Europe, Asia and Oceania and Chief Legal Officer for Agip KCO.
Eni is one of the largest investors in the oil and gas industry of Kazakhstan, and the Italian oil and gas giant contributes to the development of the industry, new projects and the development of local content.
Zhao Xiaoming, Chairman of the Board, PetroKazakhstan Kumkol Resources
Zhao graduated from Daqing Petroleum Institute, majoring in Oil Reservoir Engineering and from Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, Master of Engineering and Technology in Oil and Gas Engineering.
He began his career at DATSIYNEFT LLC as a specialist at the Institute of Geology of the Second Oil Production Administration, worked at the Center for Foreign Research of CNODC and at Russian Investment Company CNPC International LLC.
Zhao has significant experience in Kazakhstan, where he held leading engineering and management positions at CNPC-Ai Dan Munai JSC and CNPC-Aktobemunaigas JSC. He was Deputy Director of the Department of Exploration or Development of Fields at CNPC International in the Republic of Kazakhstan LLC (Beijing), and an expert in the development of oil and gas fields at the CNODC Expert Center (Beijing). During his career, he has demonstrated expertise in reservoir engineering and exploration, strengthening his professional competencies in the oil and gas sector.
Li Shufeng, General Director, CNPC-Aktobemunaigas
One of the most promising managers of the China National Petroleum Corporation with international management experience. Since 2005, he has been working in Kazakhstan and developing oil and gas projects. He made a significant contribution to the development of projects of the leading oil and gas company of the Kyzylorda region, PetroKazakhstan Kumkol Resources JSC, and while holding positions in the structure of the CNODC Company (Beijing), he actively interacted with the external relations departments of the Corporation and contributed to increasing the volume and dynamics of foreign direct investment from China in the oil and gas sector of Kazakhstan. He clearly demonstrated the qualities of an international-class manager in the process of acquiring a stake in the Kazakhstan oil and gas project North Caspian Consortium by the China National Petroleum Corporation. From April 2022 to August 2022, he held the position of Deputy General Director of CNPC-Aktobemunaigas JSC.
Li Shufeng has high professional competence, deep knowledge in the field of international oil and gas business, effective management skills in the field of neutralizing business risks, experience in projects for the development of «green» technologies, the ability to manage a multi-thousand workforce. Under his leadership, the company optimized hydrocarbon production, attracted foreign investment and strengthened the corporate culture. Technologies for increasing the efficiency of production and digitalization programs were also introduced. The company actively supports social projects in the Aktobe region, allocating funds for charity and infrastructure.
Dylan Morgan, Deputy Managing Director, Chevron Eurasia Business Unit
As the Deputy Managing Director, Dylan is responsible for managing the company’s operations in the region, including the company’s interests in Tengizchevroil, Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V. and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Prior to this, Dylan served as Manager, Chevron’s Exploration and Production Business Unit in Perth, Australia. In this role, he oversaw new ventures and growth opportunities in the hydrocarbon and carbon capture and storage (CCS) area. In addition to these activities, he oversaw portfolio optimization, development of a pipeline plan and pre-feasibility study to transition discovered resources to Australia’s existing LNG infrastructure. Dylan joined Chevron in 2003 as a Geologist in the Gulf of Mexico Offshore business unit in New Orleans, Louisiana. From there until his transfer to the Australian division, he held various positions of increasing responsibility as an E&P consultant, in E&P and asset management divisions in the UK, Indonesia and the US (Texas, California and Louisiana). Dylan holds a BS in Geology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and an MS in Geology from Texas A&M University. Dylan lives in Almaty, is married and has four daughters.
Stephen Kovacevich, Production Operations Manager, TCO
Previously, Steve was the Production Manager at FGP.
He holds a BS in Petroleum Engineering (Louisiana National University) and an MBA (University of Louisville).
He has been with Chevron since 1994, managing production units. Previously, he worked in Singapore, Indonesia, Baghdad, Thailand, Angola and the USA.
Norbert Jallais, Director of Safety, Environment and Asset Integrity, KPO
Norbert has strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to develop and lead a team, as well as excellent planning, organization and negotiation skills.
Norbert is an experienced HSE professional who started his career as an environmental engineer. He worked as an auditor and consultant on various international projects. Since 2007, he has held senior positions at Eni, where he was responsible for the implementation of integrated management systems in accordance with ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. Under his leadership, projects involving thousands of employees with a focus on safety and sustainability were implemented in Nigeria and North Africa. He significantly improved the safety performance of the sites, achieving zero LTIF and increasing the number of hours of safety training by 1180%.
Among Norbert’s key achievements are the successful implementation of the Safety Leadership program, as well as sustainability initiatives in Gabon and Algeria. At KPO, he continues to maintain high safety standards by improving risk management processes and developing the team with an emphasis on interpersonal skills and productive working relationships.
Adam Wheeler, Supply Chain Manager, TCO
Adam is responsible for category management, contracting, procurement, materials management, procurement technology, supply chain and facilities management, services and logistics.
Adam holds a BA in Accounting and Finance (University of South Wales, UK) and an MBA in Supply Chain Management (Arizona State University).
In 2002, Adam joined Chevron at the Pembroke Refinery in the UK as a Management Accountant supporting the core business and working capital.
From 2004 to 2010, Adam worked in the Downstream Supply Chain Management in a variety of roles including Planning and Optimization Coordinator, Category Management Team Leader and Procurement Manager at the Cape Town Refinery in South Africa.
From 2010 to 2017, Adam worked on the FGP project in the UK and Kazakhstan, where he held various positions including FGP Contracts Manager and Supply Chain Manager at Tengiz.
From 2017 to 2022, Adam worked for Chevron North America as a Supply Chain Manager in the San Joaquin Valley Business Unit in California, USA, and the Gulf of Mexico Business Unit in Houston, Texas, USA.
In 2022, Adam took up the position of Supply Chain Manager at TCO.
Adam has been promoting local content development in the oil and gas industry. One of the significant recent achievements of the industry is the awarding of TCO MRO contracts to 4 Kazakhstani companies, which is a significant historical event (for more than 20 years, this contract was awarded to only 2 foreign companies). Adam and the SCM team were directly involved in this issue.
Davesh Patel, General Manager, Operations Technical, NCOC
His key objective is to deliver operational and technical excellence, as well as develop local talent and support the domestic oil and gas industry.
Davesh is a highly experienced professional with over 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, having started his career with Shell in the UK. After graduating, he began working as an offshore production engineer, focusing on operations, maintenance and well design. During his career, he has worked in a variety of challenging and responsible roles across production, engineering, asset management and general management, making him a versatile professional in his field.
Davesh has worked in key Shell joint ventures in countries such as the UK, Oman, Syria, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Netherlands and Tunisia. He has made significant contributions to major projects, two of which stand out: the safe start-up of the Majnoon oil field in Iraq in 2013, despite significant commercial, technical and political challenges, and the development and implementation of a unified asset management system for all Shell joint ventures, covering three main business sectors – production, integrated gas and refining.
One of his priorities throughout his career has been the development of young professionals. In Syria, he successfully implemented a plan to reduce the number of expatriate specialists, nationalizing most operational staff over several years. In Iraq, he initiated the recruitment of more than 150 local graduates, creating a training program for them, which allowed for the development of highly qualified personnel and reduced dependence on expatriate specialists.
In Kazakhstan Davesh has been endorsing Kazakhstani personnel.
Dwight Crabtree General Manager, Finance, TCO
He holds a BA in Economics from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.
Dwight joined Chevron in 2010 and most recently served as the AMBU Planning, Optimization, and Finance Manager in Pittsburgh, PA, a position he assumed in July 2016. Prior to this position, Dwight served as the MBA Finance and Finance Development Program Manager in San Ramon, CA. He has also served in a variety of assignments in financial audit, the finance function of the South African Chief Business Unit (SACB) project in Angola, and shareholder and merger affairs.
Dwight was a Princeton Asia Senior Fellow in Bangkok in 2002 in the American International Finance Division (Thailand). He spent three years with an American international group and then three years with the Dutch consulting firm Nollen Group, specializing in financing and development projects in the energy sector worldwide.
He was named “CFO of the Year 2018” by the Pittsburgh Business Times and is on the board of trustees of Princeton in Asia (PiA).
One of the significant achievements under Dwight’s leadership is the acceptance of Kazakh banks Guarantee provided by TCO Contractors.
Damianos Efthymiadis, General Director, SemArco
After graduating from Sapienza University of Rome with a degree in Architecture, Damianos Efthymiadis continued his studies in the United States, where he received a Master of Architecture and Renewable Energy from Ball State University. In 1985, he founded an architectural firm in Greece, gained experience working with clients such as HSBC and Bank of America, and managed large construction companies.
In 2013, he joined Archirodon, creating SemArco in Kazakhstan. Under his leadership, important projects were implemented, including the expansion of the Northern Port in Aktau and the construction of solar power plants.
Damianos managed not only to strengthen the business, but also to create jobs — more than 1,000 in different regions of Kazakhstan, including the Mangystau and Turkestan regions. An important step was the partnership with BI Group, which strengthened the company’s position in the market. In 2023, SemArco completed the berth construction project in Bautino, investing $5 million. Damianos actively supports the nationalization of personnel, creating opportunities for young specialists from Kazakhstan who receive practical training and participate in large national projects. In addition, the company under his leadership is actively involved in social initiatives, helping low-income families and developing local infrastructure.
SemArco is one of the largest taxpayers in the Mangistau region and complies with all labor laws, making it an example of responsible and sustainable business in Kazakhstan.
Randy Potter, Reliability Engineering Manager, TCO
Randy holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (University of Colorado).
He first came to Kazakhstan in 2006, when he joined the Tengizchevroil (TCO) Reliability Engineering team. There he helped develop a world-class reliability program aimed at managing the health and performance of TCO’s diverse and complex fleet of technical equipment. After a short period of work in Angola, he was invited back to Kazakhstan to support the construction and launch of the Future Growth Project. Once the 3GP/3GI facilities are operational, TCO will be producing 1 million barrels of oil per day which is a significant achievement.
Today, Randy has worked through the full cycle of work at TCO and is extremely honored to hold the position of Reliability Engineering Manager. The engineering team is responsible for ensuring the integrity and reliability of TCO’s assets, from the wellhead to the export systems. As part of this mission, he works tirelessly to improve the skills of specialists and implement advanced technical solutions. Kazakhstan has become a second home for Randy because of the people and the time he has spent here. His guiding principles have always been excellence and value, Randy strives to ensure that Tengizchevroil employees become world-class professionals, and the company becomes a reliable, safe and sustainable part of the national economy of Kazakhstan.
Jean Vacque, Finance Director, KPO
Jean has almost 20 years of global management experience. He has held various finance positions in the oil and gas industry, both upstream and midstream. He has a good understanding of different cultures, having worked in 8 different countries. As a qualified management accountant, Jean has gained deep knowledge of treasury, financial control, corporate and joint venture finance in various management positions, including 6 years at Basrah Gas Company in Iraq. Before joining KPO, he was the CFO of Shell in Mexico. At KPO, Jean is actively involved in supporting local employees and contributing to the development of the company’s financial system.
Amir Ijaz, HR Deputy Director, NCOC
Amir holds a Master of Science degree in Human Resources (HR) from the University of Minnesota (USA) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Economics from the University of Manitoba (Canada). With over 25 years of experience at ExxonMobil, he has gained expertise in various parts of the oil and gas value chain, including upstream, downstream and chemical manufacturing.
Amir has held senior HR positions ranging from developing country-level HR strategies to designing global compensation programs and managing executive development. During his extensive career, he has gained valuable experience across four continents.
Amir is currently seconded to NCOC from ExxonMobil to support the Kashagan project. During his tenure at NCOC, Amir prioritizes the localization process and is actively involved in mentoring local employees. He leads NCOC’s HR programs aimed at developing employee competencies and facilitating knowledge transfer from expatriates to locals. Using his experience in applying global best talent management practices, Amir actively adapts these strategies to the Kazakhstani market, facilitating the professional growth of national employees. The combined efforts of the NCOC team have resulted in exceeding the established talent localization targets.
Graeme Milne, Managing Director, Denholm Zholdas
Graeme has been with the Denholm Group for 42 years and held various positions in the UK offshore oil sector until 1994.
From 1994 to 1999, Graeme developed the business model that later formed the basis for the creation of Denholm Zholdas.
Since the founding of Denholm Zholdas in 1999, Graeme has overseen the growth and development of the company, transforming it into one of the leading service providers to the oil and gas industry in Kazakhstan. From the very beginning of Denholm Zholdas, Graeme has been a strong supporter of local content development, resulting in over 15,000 Kazakhstani nationals receiving training through the Denholm Zholdas program. In 2025, Graeme was awarded the Petrochemical Industry Award by the Association of Producers and Consumers of Petrochemical Products.
Sibu Nair, Area Chief Executive, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan, Bureau Veritas
In his role, he is responsible for overseeing the delivery of consulting, testing, inspection and certification services in the region.
Sibu Nair holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, as well as a postgraduate diploma in Business Administration and a Diploma in Welding Engineering. During his successful 25-year career in project management, he has led various projects with major operators, private and EPC companies at Bureau Veritas Kazakhstan.
Sibu Nair’s professional career began in India, after which he worked in Singapore, Australia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and further across Central Asia. His professional interests are focused on positioning the company as a preferred partner that delivers high quality and sustainability to its clients.
As part of Bureau Veritas’ «Leap|28» strategy, the main goal of Sebu Nair’s team and the entire company is to achieve step-changes in growth and efficiency based on three pillars: portfolio, efficiency and people, with sustainability at the center. Sebu Nair was recently nominated as one of the top 20 decarbonization experts in the oil and gas industry in Kazakhstan.
Arun Mathew, Regional Director, Sarens Kazakhstan
Sarens is a recognized world leader in heavy lifting, engineering solutions, and cargo handling using specialized transport. Successfully performs work on unloading, storing, warehousing and transporting modules to the place of their installation.
The project involves a total of 800 Kazakhstani and 200 foreign employees who share their knowledge and best practices with Kazakhstani specialists.
Over the years of working at Sarens, Kazakhstani employees have gained extensive experience, allowing them to implement any project, regardless of the scale and complexity of the task. Sarens’ work is carried out in accordance with the SHEQ policy aimed at ensuring safe conditions for personnel, the environment and the equipment used with the highest quality for each project.
2021 Social project — construction of a modular hospital in the Atyrau region, Zhylyoi district, Kulsary for 200 beds;
2023–2024 project for the transportation of wind turbine elements from China to Uzbekistan;
2024 – project for transportation of wind turbine elements from China to Russia;
2024 opening of an office in Azerbaijan, Baku – project for installation of wind turbines.
The company’s top priority is the successful completion of the project in compliance with safety regulations.
Anders Carlsson, NCOC Development Planning Manager
His responsibilities include leading the early development of projects that will help extract maximum value from existing assets and lay the foundation for future growth for the company.
He began his career in chemical engineering, completing his PhD at Stanford University at the age of 25. He then spent time in research in Taipei and Berlin. Anders then moved to Shell R&D in the Netherlands and the UK, where he not only filed several patents but also developed gas processing technologies for several operational plants. He also led the process engineering for major projects such as Pearl GTL and Nigeria LNG Train 7+. Anders subsequently led the commissioning of Train 6 of the Nigeria LNG facility, achieving a world record of just 9 days from final readiness to start of LNG production.
At LNG, he played a key role in process optimization, resulting in an increase in production of more than 10%. Later, as Head of Operations, Anders developed and implemented the company’s first asset management plan. In Iraq, Anders led the creation of the new company Basra Gas and implemented accelerated flaring reduction projects, increasing gas capture and processing fivefold in just five years. As Operations Support Manager at the Sakhalin II project in Russia, Anders was able to decrease the number of safety incidents while maintaining operations at both the offshore and onshore facilities as well as the LNG plants. His expertise enabled him to overcome numerous technical challenges, ensure stable production, and coordinate interactions with banks, insurers, and shareholders on behalf of the company’s management.
Giovanni Di Massa, Contract Representative for KPO Projects, TKJV
Giovanni is a senior manager with over 30 years of experience in the refining, petrochemical, and power industries across four continents. He holds a degree in nuclear engineering from La Sapienza University, Rome, and became a Professional Engineer in Italy in 1988. Giovanni has a proven track record in managing EPC, FEED, and PMC projects, demonstrating exceptional negotiating skills and comprehensive contract administration. His expertise includes overseeing multi-million-dollar projects, ensuring safety and quality, and fostering strong relationships with global stakeholders. Currently, he has been assigned to lead the KPO Project under a Frame Agreement for Long-Term Engineering Services from TKJV (Technip Energies and KPSP joint venture. His contribution to supporting and mentoring local engineers has significantly enhanced the skills and confidence of emerging talent in TKJV community.