European Gas Conference 2019

Ms Nyland was appointed director general of the NPD in 2007. She joined the directorate in 1989 as a senior geologist, and was appointed to her first management position in 1994 before becoming a member of the management team in 2000. Ms Nyland began her career as an exploration geologist in Statoil, where she worked for five years. She has served on a number of boards, including those of the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), the Norwegian Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), the University Fund for Rogaland and the University of Stavanger. Member of NTVA - Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences.

Megan Richards is Director of Energy Policy in DG Energy (ENER) of the European Commission since 1 April 2017. She has bachelor of science, bachelor of laws and master of public administration degrees. She has worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Africa, the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, the government of Canada, and private law firms. In 1991, she joined the European Commission and has worked on programmes to support SMEs, research and innovation, including regulatory, legal, financial and contractual issues. From September 2006 - April 2009 she was Director of Resource Management in the Commission's Joint Research Centre; from May 2009 was in the Commission's DG CONNECT, holding positions of Director of General Affairs, Director of Converged Networks and Services, Director Coordination, and acting Deputy Director General and Principal Adviser. From 2013-2014 she was EU Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.

Senior Vice President and Chief Economist in Equinor, group responsible for macroeconomics and energy and commodity market analyses, and head of strategy in mid- and downstream.

Broad experience from government, academics and private sector companies, as advisor and in different leadership positions. In Equinor, leader of Corporate Strategy, Corporate Planning and Analysis, Economic Analysis in Upstream Norway, Energy Market Analysis in addition to current role.

Currently non-executive member of the Board of Innovation Norway, and member of the Global Commission to examine Geopolitics of Energy Transformation, set up by IRENA, the International Renewable Energy Agency, as well as non-executive member of the Board of Centre for applied research at the Norwegian School of Economics.

July 2016 – February 2018 non-executive member of the Board of the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet).

From 2014 in different energy initiatives under World Economic Forum, including special advisor for their work on energy architecture and member of the global council on the future of energy.

In the period 2010-2013 member of the Executive Board of the Central Bank of Norway.

Previous work experience from the Centre for applied research at the Norwegian School of Economics, Norwegian Ministry of Finance, Total E&P Norway, and Pöyry Management Consulting/Econ Centre for economic analysis.

Coby van der Linde is currently director of the Clingendael International Energy Programme (CIEP) in The Hague, The Netherlands, a non-executive director in three energy companies, a member of the KAPSARC International Advisory Council and IGU wise person since 2004.

Coby van der Linde started working as an assistant professor on International Economic Relations at the Univeristy of Leiden in 1984. After finishing her PhD-thesis – Dynamic International Oil markets, Oil market development and structure 1860-1990 (Kluwer, 1991) – she became associate professor. She was a visiting researcher at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (1990 and 1991), at the Energy and Environment Programme, the Royal Institute for International Affairs ‘Chatham House’, Londen (1992-1993) and in the Fall of 1993 she was Visiting Domingo Moreno Professor, at the Colorado School of Mines, Golden Colorado, USA. From 1994 to 1996, after returning to the University of Leiden, she was also a part-time professor International Oil Markets at the University of Amsterdam. In 1998 she became a part-time senior research fellow at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael, The Hague, The Netherlands. In October 1999 her second book – The State and the International Oil Market (Kluwer 1999) – was published. From 2000-2005 she was professor International Political Economy and International Oil Markets at the University of Leiden and from 2004 until 2015, she was part-time professor of Geopolitics and Energy Management at the University of Groningen.

Since September 2001 she is director of the Clingendael International Energy Programme (CIEP). She is managing various studies on European and international energy markets, security of oil and gas supply and energy and climate policy. From 2004-2014 she was a member of the Dutch Energy Council (AER). She is a columnist on energy issues, and has written with Bassam Fattouh a book on the twenty year history of the producer-consumer dialogue for the International Energy Forum (IEF) in 2010/11. In 2011 she was part of the advisory board on the EU energy roadmap 2050 for Commissioner Oettinger, under chairmanship of Dieter Helm.

Current position: Senior Vice President Exploration, Norway and UK
MSc in Petroleum Geology from the University of Aberdeen
Working in Equinor since 1997.
Experience is within Exploration including Norway, West and North Africa, technology development and implementation and portfolio management.

Jarand founded Rystad Energy in 2004 and is managing the company. Jarand has extensive experience in oil and gas strategy advisory work from McKinsey and Rystad Energy. He has led a number of strategy projects for international oil and gas companies and oilfield service companies. He has also worked with governments and international organizations on topics related to the global energy agenda, and he is advising investors on deal screening, transactions and portfolio management. He is among the most cited petroleum analysts in the industry and been the keynote speaker on numerous international conferences. His areas of expertise include E&P strategy, asset and company transactions, macro analysis and oil service industry analysis. Jarand has also worked for Kvaerner Engineering and as a research scientist within Industrial Economics, gaining wide expertise in statistics and programming. Jarand holds a M.Sc. degree in Physics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, where he majored with a thesis on astroseismology. He also has an academic background in philosophy, and has been the leader and founder of various organizations.

Frode Leversund har vært adm. direktør i Gassco siden 2015.
I 1992 ble han ansatt i Statoil og gikk gradene fra produksjonsingeniør til leder for produksjon på Kårstø. Videre har Leversund hatt en rekke lederstillinger innen drift av gassanlegg og raffinerier, samt innen midstrøms- og nedstrømsteknologiområdene i Statoil. Han har også ledet prosjektet «Forenkling og effektivisering av tekniske ressurser» i Statoils effektiviseringsprogram STEP. Leversund er utdannet sivilingeniør ved NTNU.

As Chief Commercial Officer for Nord Stream 2 AG, Reinhard Ontyd is responsible for the company’s commercial activities, involving procurement, permitting and legal affairs.

Mr Ontyd served in a similar post for the existing Nord Stream Pipeline project as Compliance Officer. He has been working in the energy industry for his entire professional career, having first started at Ruhrgas AG, Germany. Before joining the Nord Stream Pipeline project, he worked for Germany`s E.ON group, where he held various senior positions in the area of law, management of long-term gas supply contracts and project management over the last 20 years.

Mr Ontyd holds a degree in law.

Akos Losz is a senior research associate at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, where he focuses on global natural gas markets. Prior to joining Columbia, Akos was senior analyst at the New York office of Westwood Global Energy Group, a UK-based global energy consulting firm. Previously, he worked in the Strategy team of MOL Group, a Hungary-based international energy company, and completed internships at CSIS, a leading Washington DC think tank, and at PFC Energy (now IHS Markit). Akos holds an MA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and completed undergraduate studies at the Corvinus University of Budapest.

Andrea has 20+ years’ experience and has matured a wide range of competencies along the gas value chain. Since the early 2000s he participated in the gas liberalization process, with a focus on regulatory, commercial and development issues in underground gas storage in Stogit.
He was a founder and VP of Gas Storage Europe from 2005 to 2011 and a board member of Gas Infrastructures Europe from 2008 to 2011. In 2010 he joined Snam as Executive VP for Development, Commercial & Regulatory Relations. In 2013 he contributed to the international development activities as Head of Business Development in UK, France, Austria and the Southern Gas Corridor.

Since June 2015 he is an ExComm member of the International Gas Union.

Mr. Thorkildsen joined HitecVision in 2013 from Seadrill, where he was the CEO. During his tenure, Seadrill grew to become the world’s largest drilling contractor by market capitalisation and enterprise value. Mr. Thorkildsen joined Seadrill in 2006 as CFO. Prior to this, he was the CFO of Smedvig ASA, a leading Norwegian drilling company, which was acquired by Seadrill in 2006. Mr. Thorkildsen started his career in 1980 in Larsen and Hagen Shipping and worked thereafter for 20 years in Shell in numerous senior positions.
Mr. Thorkildsen’s long experience from oil and gas operations, and deep industry knowledge, makes him a key person in deal sourcing, company development, strategy implementation and guiding portfolio companies through more challenging phases.
Mr. Thorkildsen has a degree in business from Handelsakademiet in Norway and an MBA from Arizona State University.

Senior energy policy research fellow in Warsaw based OSW (Centre for Eastern Studies). Since early 2000s studying energy – mostly oil & gas – policies and markets in Europe and its Eastern neighbourhood. In the recent years focused on European gas markets and policy, coordinating works of natural gas project in OSW. Publishing extensivelly on the topic in Poland and abroad (including NUPI). Participant of international projects, cooperated with multiple Polish and foreign think-tanks, institutions (including European Parliament, IEA),media etc.

Hans Kristian Danielsen holds a Master in Science Degree in Naval Arcitecture from NTH. He has been Involved as LNG expert in more than 20 re-gassificaton and liquefaction projects and more than 15 FLNG concept developments. 2016-2018 - Global Key Account Manager Equinor and part to the Region Norway’s Management team in Oil &Gas. 2013-2016 Responcible for selection and follow-up of the Global Mega Project sales funnel and the Global Key Account in Oil & Gas. 2010-2013 - Country Manager Australia and part of the DNV South East Asia Management Team. LNG Segment Director with responsibility for DNVs Business Development Strategy & Execution in the Natural Gas Sector (2008 - 2010). Head of LNG Segment Section (2006 - 2008). Part of the Leadership team in Risk Management Solutions in DNV Energy and global responsibility for the execution and growth of DNV Energies services in the LNG market. Head of Section Upstream Safety Team (2005 - 2006).