ADES in new CFO appointment

ADES International Holding has named Ahmed El-Khatib as a chief financial officer (CFO) with immediate effect.

ADES is a London-listed company providing offshore and onshore oil and gas drilling and production services in the Middle East and Africa through its subsidiaries.

The group operates a fleet of nine jack-up offshore drilling rigs, three onshore drilling rigs, a jack-up barge, and a mobile offshore production unit, which includes a floating storage and offloading unit.

El-Khatib is a veteran of the global energy industry with experience spanning the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Over a 20-year career, he served in a series of increasingly senior posts with BP, which he joined in 1996, including postings in Cairo, London, Houston, and Abu Dhabi, during which he led multi-billion-dollar transactions across the Middle East, including the renewal of licenses, bids, and the design of commercial structures, among other senior financial mandates.

El-Khatib was most recently BP’s business development director for the Middle East, where his track record included leading the commercial negotiations for BP’s entry to Kuwait, bid preparation for onshore and offshore concession renewal opportunities for Abu Dhabi and acreage extension in Oman.

He was head of finance in Houston for BP’s Global Projects Organisation with a scope covering 25 projects comprising 30 percent of BP’s project capital in 2013 and a director of mergers and acquisitions at BP’s global M&A function in London, among other postings.

Mohamed Farouk, CEO of ADES International Holding, said: “I am very pleased to welcome Ahmed to the Group as we strengthen our senior management team with the finance, business development and investment talent we need to pursue our next phase of growth.

“Ahmed’s unique experience in the sector both globally and regionally will be important to the Group as we pursue both new territories and inorganic growth opportunities.”

It is worth reminding that ADES was awarded a contract in July by Eni IEOC, the Egyptian subsidiary of Italian oil major Eni, for a new drilling campaign offshore Egypt.

Namely, the contract was awarded by Belayim Petroleum Co. (Petrobel), a joint venture between Eni IEOC and EGPC, for a three-month drilling campaign to be led by ADES’ offshore jack-up drilling rig, Admarine 88. The contract included the scope to be extended on a well-by-well basis after that.