ADIPEC Awards to recognize female empowerment in gas and oil sector

H E Abdulla Nasser Al Suwaidi ADNOC s Director General Keynote Opening at 2012 edition

Young ADIPEC Engineer Category Seeks to Groom Future Leaders and Innovators
Regional Jury Panel Includes Two Experts from Kuwait’s Oil and Gas Industry

The Abu Dhabi Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) Awards, which recognise and reward excellence within individual projects and departments of gas and oil companies in the MENA region, has announced the introduction of two new categories: Empowerment of Women in the Gas and Oil Industry and the Young ADIPEC Engineer.

The category for ‘Empowerment of Women in the Gas and Oil Industry’ seeks to highlight companies that recognise the value of diversity and are committed to strengthening women’s participation in the sector, particularly in leadership roles. Candidate companies looking to compete in this category would need to demonstrate efforts in exploring challenges and implementing changes to drive women’s integration into the gas and oil industry.

The Young ADIPEC Engineer award comes as part of ADIPEC’s efforts to nurture future leaders and innovators in the gas and oil sector. Open to individuals who hold less than four years of experience in the industry, the award will recognise the potential of individuals to serve as successful team leaders. The evaluation will scrutinise the aspirant’s scope of work and ability to adapt to the environment, people and situations. Proven leadership qualities and mentor’s recommendations will also be taken into consideration.

Sara Akbar CEO of Kuwait Energy

Serving as ADIPEC’s jury member for the first time, Sara Akbar, CEO of Kuwait Energy Co, is one of five women on the panel. She said: “The institution of this category is highly relevant. Women’s participation in the sector is a subject close to my heart and I have invested considerable time and effort to encourage this trend. Currently, the example of my career is an exception and not the norm for women in the oil and gas industry in the MENA region. Undoubtedly, progress has been made, but I hope that stories like mine will soon become a way of life. I am confident that initiatives such as the ADIPEC awards will accelerate the process. The institution of a category for Young Engineers will also serve as a timely motivation for young professionals in the industry.”

Steve Peacock COO of Mubadala Petroleum

Steve Peacock, COO of Mubadala Petroleum, another new entrant on the 20-member judging panel, said: “It is unfortunate that women need to prove themselves more than men in most industries and cultures – an attitude that is especially hard to understand when the work is intellectual rather than physical! Women do not need any favours; their work speaks for them. However, it is good to specifically showcase their talent as a way of demonstrating and reinforcing the point. The industry has some very talented women holding technical and business leadership potential that we must recognise, nurture and further develop.”

ADIPEC Awards will close submissions on 1 August, 2013 across all categories including Best Gas and Oil Project, Best Gas and Oil Innovation or Technology, Best Gas and Oil HSE Project, Best CSR Initiative, Empowerment of Women in Gas and Oil Industry, and Young ADIPEC Engineer. The easy-to-apply process requires the submission of entries through an online form at www.adipec.com/awards/ The website also offers information on the criteria for each category and the application process. Companies and individuals that have applied in earlier editions and were not recognised are welcome to re-enter. Such entries would have to pay specific emphasis on the updates to their projects.

The judging panel will receive the entries by 1 September, and deliver their independent evaluations by 1 October. The panel will convene in October for final deliberation and decide the winners of this year’s most coveted energy awards. ADIPEC Awards – Excellence in Energy 2013 will honour winners across all categories at a gala ceremony in Abu Dhabi on 10 November.

In addition to Sara Akbar, Bader Al Khashti, Chairman and Managing Director of Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, will continue to be a member of the regional jury panel for the awards. As judging members, they will provide their insight of Kuwait’s gas and oil sector to facilitate the evaluation process. The jury comprises key industry experts from regional national oil companies, international oil companies, research and development entities, as well as engineering, procurement and construction departments, academic institutions, and professional associations.

The 2013 awards is sponsored by OMV, Partex Oil and Gas and JODCO. The 2012 edition of the awards featured six categories and received 170 entries from 15 countries. The ceremony was attended by more than 750 senior regional industry representatives.

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For further information, contact:
Tea Vutmej
Special Projects Manager – ADIPEC
dmg events
ADNEC House, PO Box 74879, Abu Dhabi, UAE
T: +971 2 444 4909 / D: +971 2 406 4467
E: teavutmej@dmgeventsme.com

For the complete list of 2013 judges, see www.adipec.com/rsj

For media inquiries, please contact:
Ashraf Abdullah
APCO Worldwide – Abu Dhabi
Mobile: +971 55 9548663
email: aabdullah@apcoworldwide.com

ADIPEC Trophy

ABOUT ADIPEC
Held under the patronage of the President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and organised by dmg events, ADIPEC is the largest regional exhibition for the Middle East oil and gas industry. Supported by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the UAE’s Ministry of Energy, it hosts more than 1,600 exhibitors and attracts more than 45,000 attendees.

ABOUT THE ADIPEC AWARDS – EXCELLENCE IN ENERGY 2013
ADIPEC Awards 2012
After the introduction of the new judging system and 21 newly-appointed regional oil and gas experts to form the official judging panel, the interest for the ADIPEC Awards rocketed. Fresh categories and a very detailed process of how to write an entry helped candidates to focus their accomplishment in a less than a 1000 word summary, which resulted with a very competitive environment.

•Six categories of Awards open for nominations
•170 entries received from 15 countries and 65 organisations
•Regional Select Jury formed (21 oil and gas experts join the judging panel)
•Three stage judging process implemented
•Two keynote speeches delivered at the opening ceremony
•Attended by over 150 senior managers from ADNOC
•Attended by senior representatives of the top 30 oil and gas organisations in MENA

In 2012 there were six award categories:
• Best MENA Oil & Gas Project
• Best MENA Oil & Gas Innovation or Technology
• Best MENA Oil & Gas HSE Project or Initiative
• Best MENA CSR Initiative
• Best MENA Oilfield/Gas Field Management Strategy
• Best International Oil & Gas Project

ADIPEC Awards 2010
ADIPEC Awards – Excellence in Energy was created to recognise the excellence within individual projects and departments of oil and gas companies in the MENA region, and to support development of a stronger and even more successful oil and gas business community throughout the region.
The competition commenced in 2010 and the statistics of the first year show:
• 6 categories of Awards open for nominations
• 70 entries received
• Nominations came from 16 countries
• Esteemed judging panel comprising six highly respected industry experts
• Attended by 320 senior managers including 70 managers from ADNOC