theceomagazine.com | 161market, and therefore significant risk in the business. Dealing
with all of these variations and dynamics makes the job very
interesting,” Haydn says.
For Haydn, one of the key facets of the industry is
having good relationships – he believes they are vital
because no single person can build an entire energy value
chain. This means always working with other entities,
communities and government agencies. “I think
the dynamics and the relationships are the most
important aspects,” he says.
“There is excitement in finding the
right solution to make everything work.
At the end of the day, it takes a long
time, because the nature of it is that you
spend several years developing a business
and the benefits only present themselves
well into the future.”
Brunei Darussalam has a long history
in the energy sector, and the industry
has played a critical role in the country’s
economy, contributing to more than 60 per cent
of its GDP. The South-East Asian nation is looking to
continue capitalising on this and making the most of its
oil and gas fields, while also boosting local content. “I have
seen the energy sector contribute to economic growth and
I believe in the potential for another wave of development in
Brunei,” Haydn says. “I think what is important for us is to
maximise value from that growth and be able to realise not
just the monetary aspect but also the added value in terms
of job creation, skills development and local businesses.”
Those principles are helping to drive BNPC, a varied
organisation that is involved in every segment of the energy
value chain, including exploration, development, production
involving deep- and shallow-water projects, petrochemicals,
marketing and trading, and energy services. Given that the
company grew very quickly, Haydn says he realised the way
it worked had to change.
“The company is very diversified – we actually have
12 subsidiaries and joint venture companies, so
managing all of these became quite challenging
with a relatively small staff base. But with
strong teamwork and dedication, we are
able to overcome those challenges,”
Haydn says.
The company seized the chance to
consolidate, and to change the structure
and governance model. Changes included
focusing on new areas and aligning the
organisation into an integrated business,
which he believes will maximise returns and
help manage the risks of the oil and gas business
by distributing risk across the full chain. “We now work
in a much more agile manner, meaning we control dynamics
very quickly; we can kickstart projects and initiatives with
multidisciplinary teams and, once these are mature, we pass
them on to the respective lines,” he says.
BNPC is now turning its focus to boosting the
performance of its existing assets. “Our methanol production
plant and tanker businesses are back on track; our marketing
and trading portfolio has increased, our fabrication yard^“I DON’T
HAVE ANY
REGRETS
ABOUT THESE
LEAPS OF
FAITH I HAVE
TAKEN.”Interview | INVEST