Employee Profiles

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Hossam
"I enjoy the diversity of work; being hands-on involved in the economic, political or social perspectives of our projects. The projects we work on are also enormously important to the host governments, and that makes the job exciting."

 

Commercial Analyst – Shell Gas & Power

Hossam
  • Location: London, UK
  • Joined Shell: November 1998

 

What is your current role at Shell?

I work with a team of about 30 people looking to develop gas markets in the Middle East. I have to consider the entire supply chain from market demand, pricing mechanisms, politics, stakeholder issues, as well as country energy balance and macroeconomics. Based on this information, we scout for prospective customers.
 
Businesses we develop might require the building of a new pipeline or striking a deal to use an existing one, or even the construction of a billion dollar liquefied natural gas plant. We negotiate these deals, price them and seek external project financing. The position requires me to study market developments, anticipate new projects, investigate the economics of proposed projects, consider potential pipeline routes, or select locations for plants. Clearly I am not qualified to do all this and we frequently work closely with Shell engineers on the more technical matters.

 

What do you like best about your role?

I enjoy the diversity of work; being hands-on involved in the economic, political or social perspectives of our projects. The projects we work on are also enormously important to the host governments, and that makes the job exciting. I also get to travel all over the Middle East.

 

Tell us about your background and experience

I graduated from Southampton University in Oceanography and spent a year as a commercial diver in Egypt. Then, I applied to Shell in The Netherlands where I was recruited into Exploration and Production. I returned to Egypt as Head of Corporate HSE (Health, Safety and Environment), which involved a liaison with the oil products business to work on their HSE initiatives. At the same time, I was in charge of a meteorological oceanographic survey of the Mediterranean to understand marine conditions in advance of bringing out a very expensive drilling rig. Prior to my current role, I provided HSE support to a newly acquired gas distribution company.

 

What makes you stay at Shell?

One reason is that oil and gas are among the most important commodities to mankind, hence our projects are vitally important to our host communities. Also, there is a lot of learning that goes on in Shell, whether within a discipline like economics or from my team, where at least 15 different nationalities are represented. I even had the opportunity to be involved in a two-week project working on the conservation of the South African penguin on Robben Island off the coast of South Africa. There are so many different things you can try from one year to the next. From cufflinks to overalls, you can’t get bored.

 

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