London, July 27th, 2020 – The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) has presented the 2020 Outstanding Young Professional Award (OYPA) to David Ochanda, Biodiversity Coordinator with Total, Uganda. The award recognises his endeavours in raising awareness of biodiversity and ecological standards when exploring and producing oil and gas in highly sensitive areas.
“David’s commitment is a prime example for leadership, innovation and impact. His work takes our industry’s environmental awareness to the next level. It’s a well-deserved win” said Fawaz Bitar, IOGP Chair, at the opening ceremony of the virtual SPE HSES conference. “I am earnestly grateful and profoundly honored for receiving such an important award, the IOGP OYPA 2020. This demonstrates the remarkable inspiration, empowerment and respect I have always received from my seniors and colleagues, not forgetting the great teamwork. The award gives me more strength to challenge myself and perform even better,” David responded in his acceptance speech.
This year’s announcement of the OYPA winner was planned to take place in March at the SPE HSES conference in Bogota, Colombia, but, due to the Covid-19 constraints was delayed in line with the postponement of the conference.
IOGP received submissions from over 20 organisations from around the globe. The Awards Committee, consisting of executives from the world’s leading upstream and contractor companies, categorised the nominees based on their leadership, innovation and impact and shortlisted 7 finalists.
Given the high calibre of submissions IOGP decided to choose three runners up. These are:
Saul Moorhouse, BP,
Delina Lyon, Shell, and
Xeniya Yurkavets, Kazmunaigas.
“Witnessing these outstanding initiatives makes me incredibly proud of our young colleagues and I believe the future of our industry could not be in better hands. These are exactly the kind of inspiring people we need,” said Fawaz Bitar.
Watch David’s video, and highlights of the finalists, here: https://www.iogp.org/award
About OYPA
For 40 years, IOGP has promoted safe, responsible and sustainable exploration and production (E&P) operations. The OYPA was launched in association with SPE to maintain this momentum and to inspire the next generation of leaders in the upstream industry. It highlights the achievements of a professional with fewer than 10 years of E&P experience who has demonstrated outstanding talent, dedication and leadership in the fields of health, safety, security, environment and social responsibility. The OYPA started in 2016 and is being awarded every two years. Previous winners come from Schlumberger and BP.
About IOGP
The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) is the voice of the global upstream industry. Oil and gas continue to provide a significant proportion of the world’s energy to meet growing demands for heat, light and transport.
Our Members produce 40% of the world’s oil and gas. They operate in all producing regions: The Americas, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, the Caspian, Asia and Australia.
We serve industry regulators as a global partner for improving safety, environmental and social performance. We also act as a uniquely upstream forum in which our members identify and share knowledge and good practices to achieve improvements in health, safety, the environment, security and social responsibility.
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Contact
Danny Walsh, Global Media & Communications Manager
T: +44 (0)20 3763 9715 M: +44 (0)7734 488 672 E: dw@iogp.org
