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Andrew Brown

The Energy to Lead

Editors’ Note

Andrew Brown joined Shell Gas and Power in late 2002 as Project Director for the Pearl GTL Project. One year prior, in 2001, he became Private Assistant to the Chairman of Shell, and before this, in 2000, he was appointed to work with the Vice Chairman of Shell as Senior Adviser for the Middle East and Former Soviet Union. In 1996, Brown joined Petroleum Development Oman initially as Planning Manager and latterly as Asset Manager for the Bahja Rima region. During this time, he also played a role in the establishment of Shell Hydrogen. Prior to this post, in 1993, he moved to Brunei Shell Petroleum to lead the Conceptual Engineering Group for the Offshore West region. In 1985, he was posted to New Zealand, where he worked as a Project Engineer on the Maui A offshore platform. Brown joined Shell in 1984 after completing his degree in engineering science from Cambridge University.

Qatar may be a small country in terms of geography and population, but it is blessed with visionary leaders, who have transformed the country in 10 short years into a model for the region and the world. Their strategic foresight in the development of Qatar’s vast hydrocarbon resources has enabled the country to rank among the richest nations in the world on a per capita basis. Today, Qatar is the world’s largest exporter of LNG. The country is also leading the pack in the gas-to-liquids arena and is currently poised to attain global significance in other industrial sectors such as petrochemicals.

But Qatar’s impressive economic growth is only the result of a much broader drive from its leadership, a drive that places human development first. In Qatar, the country’s leadership inspires its citizens to set extraordinary goals and to strive for excellence. True leaders need to create an environment where people believe in themselves; where they can develop a thirst for knowledge; where they believe in honesty and the rule of law; and where they are made to feel accountable for their actions. Qatar’s leaders have created an environment where everyone is valued, whatever their race, religion, or gender.

In addition, Qatar has been able to achieve extraordinary levels of development as a result of its supporting infrastructure – infrastructure that facilitates world-class education, as we find in Education City; or enables state-of-the-art transportation, such as with Qatar Airways; or supports world-scale industrial development, as we find in Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed.

The Qatar story is a tribute to His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. His vision and his leadership have created this environment and infrastructure; which has inspired people to deliver some of the most audacious projects in the world. We also need to thank those who support His Highness in delivering the plan, in particular Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned and the Ministers who lead their respective sectors.

A bold example of what can be achieved is Shell’s growth in Qatar. Six years ago, Shell had no employees living in Qatar; today the company invests more money in Qatar than in any other country in the world. Shell is also investing more money in Pearl GTL than in any other project in its long and successful 100-year history. Shell feels privileged to be working in such a unique and visionary country and looks forward to a long and fruitful partnership with the State of Qatar.