AIPN Installs 2017-2018 Board of Directors

HOUSTON, Texas (June 7, 2017) – The Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) confirmed new members of its board of directors for the 2017-2018 term on May 15 in connection with AIPN’s Second Annual International Petroleum Summit. The International Petroleum Summit was held May 15-17 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Houston. A total of 40 board members were elected, representing 16 countries.

AIPN officers, board members and staff will be involved with several major events throughout 2017 and 2018, including the AIPN 2017 Model Contracts Workshop in Oslo, Norway, June 19-22; Short Course Part 1 “From Concept to Discovery” Sept. 25-29, 2017; Short Course Part 2 “From Discovery to Decommissioning” Oct. 2-6, 2017, in Houston, Texas; the Oil & Gas Asset Valuation and Decision Analysis Workshop, Oct. 12-13, in Houston, Texas; Dispute Resolution Conference, November 9-10, 2017, in Mexico City, Mexico; and the 2018 International Petroleum Summit, April 23-25, 2018, in London, UK. A complete list of all upcoming AIPN events and chapter activities can be found on the Events page of the AIPN web site (www.aien.org).

“I am honored to serve AIPN as president,” commented Steve Otillar, newly elected president for AIPN. Otillar is based in Houston and is partner with the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. “I am committed to working with AIPN’s staff and my fellow board members to continue to advance the mission of our organization by offering high-quality educational programs, delivering up-to-date model contracts and workshops, and providing networking events in every region of the world.”

Officers and members of the AIPN board of directors are selected by committee. Terms are yearly and run from the International Petroleum Summit to the following year’s annual summit.

Officers of the Board of Directors include:

  • Steven Otillar, President (Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Houston, Texas, USA);
  • Graham Cooper, President-Elect (Commercial Director, Zennor Petroleum, Surrey, UK);
  • Lauren Wilder, Vice President – Communication (Business Development Manager, Latin America, Repsol, The Woodlands, Texas, USA);
  • Egon van der Hoeven, Vice President – Conferences (Commercial Manager, ExxonMobil Exploration Company, Spring, Texas, USA);
  • James English, Vice President – Corporate Affairs ( International Negotiator, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, The Woodlands, Texas, USA);
  • Owen Anderson, Vice President – Education (Professor and Distinguished Oil and Gas Scholar, The University of Texas School of Law, Georgetown, Texas, USA);
  • William (Bill) Burkett, Vice-President – External Affairs (BD Manager, ConocoPhillips, Houston, Texas, USA);
  • Marleen Bergman, Vice President – Membership (Principal Negotiator, BHP Billiton Petroleum, Houston, Texas, USA);
  • Guly Sabahi, Vice President – Model Contracts (Independent Legal Advisor, Washington, D.C., USA);
  • Nathanial Scott, Vice President – Planning (International Business Development, Noble Energy, Inc., Houston, Texas, USA);
  • Bill Cline, Vice President – Regions (Senior Advisor, Gaffney, Cline & Associates, Inc., Houston, Texas, USA);
  • Jasper Mason, Secretary (Counsel, Baker & Hostetler LLP, Houston, Texas, USA);
  • Joseph Wesley, Treasurer (International and Gulf of Mexico Offshore Negotiations, Kingwood, Texas, USA); and
  • David Davies, Immediate Past President (VP Business Development, Sterling Resources, London, England, UK).

Regional chapter directors include:

  • Lyrna Esmeralda-Hewitt for Asia (Principal Petroleum Economist, Commercial Services, LR Senergy, Singapore, Singapore);
  • Sean Rush for Australia-Pacific (Barrister (NZ), Solicitor (UK), Spindletop Law Limited, Wellington, New Zealand);
  • Chad Roth for Canada (Legal Counsel, Progress Energy, Calgary, Alberta, Canada);
  • Jon Hines for Commonwealth of Independent States/Former Soviet Union – CIS-FSU (Partner, Morgan Lewis, Moscow, Russia);
  • Chris Smith for Europe-Africa (General Counsel, L1 Energy, London, England, UK);
  • Diana Sanclemente for Latin America (Partner, Sanclemente Fernandez Abogados S.A., Bogota, Colombia);
  • Victor Leginsky for Middle East (Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, Arbitralis ADR FZ LLE, Dubai, UAE); and
  • Deborah Marie Wagner for United States (Attorney at Law and Solicitor, The Law Office of Marie Wagner, Kingwood, Texas, USA).

Directors-at-Large include:

  • Jean-Philippe Alary (Business Development Manager, ENGIE E&P International, Paris-La Défense, France);
  • Elvis Angyiembe (Regional Compliance Counsel, Sub-Saharan Africa, Weatherford International, Dubai, UAE);
  • James Atkin (Partner, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Tokyo, Japan);
  • Paul Barnes (Negotiator, International Business Development, BP plc, Sunbury on Thames, England, UK);
  • Gabriela Boersner (Associate General Counsel, Hess Corporation, Houston, Texas, USA);
  • Carlos de Maria y Campos (Partner, Galicia Abogados, S.C., Mexico City, Mexico)
  • Cesar Fernandez Gomez (Subdirector Juridico de Proyectos y Negocios, PEMEX, Mexico City, Mexico);
  • Gonzalo Gonzalez Galarza (Presidente, Gonzalez, Penaherrera & Asociados, Abogados, Quito, Ecuador);
  • Sean Korney (Partner, Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP, Calgary, Alberta, Canada);
  • Torgier Loland (Vice President Commercial, Negotiation & Access, Exploration Strategy & Business Development, Statoil ASA, Stavanger, Norway);
  • Andrew Melsheimer (Partner, Thompson & Knight LLP, Dallas, Texas, USA);
  • Will Montjoy (Counsel, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia);
  • Scott Porter (Head of Deal Delivery – Americas, Shell Exploration & Production Company, Houston, Texas, USA);
  • Tom Schmid (Global Commercial Consultant, Chevron International Exploration & Production Co., Houston, Texas, USA);
  • Ricardo Silva (Partner, Miranda Law Firm, Lisbon, Portugal);
  • Ken Takagi (Unit General Manager, Human Resources Unit, HR & General Affairs Division, Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan);
  • Roy Wallace (Director – License Management, Kosmos Energy, Dallas, Texas, USA); and
  • Paul Wills (Counsel, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Spring, Texas, USA).

More details on each board member can be found on the Board of Directors page of the AIPN web site (www.aien.org).

About AIPN’s Second Annual International Petroleum Summit

The International Petroleum Summit (IPS) capped off a three-day conference held May 15-17, 2017 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Houston.

The robust educational program of the 2017 IPS offered 30 speakers as part of 11 sessions, including keynote addresses from leading industry experts, roundtable discussions, and panel presentations. The summit also included a golf tournament, three pre-conference workshops, a welcome reception, a speed networking event, a gala awards dinner, as well as networking breakfasts, luncheons and coffee breaks.

The Summit focused on two of the three basic pillars of AIPN’s offerings – networking, continuing education related to international petroleum negotiations – as well as current and trending contractual issues.

AIPN hosts this event annually, building upon the foundation it established with the inaugural International Petroleum Summit in 2016 held in the Woodlands, Texas. The 2018 AIPN International Petroleum Summit will be held in London, United Kingdom, April 23-25, 2018 at the Hilton on Park Lane.