Citadel Capital Appoints New Energy Division MD, Egypt

Citadel Capital, the leading private equity firm in Africa and the Middle East with USD 9.5 billion in investments, said that it has appointed petroleum industry veteran, Mohamed Shoeb, as Managing Director of its energy division.

Shoeb, the former head of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), brings a wealth of experience to his new position at Citadel Capital. His impressive career spans 32 years in the upstream and downstream oil and gas sector in Egypt. Prior to heading EGAS in 2011, Shoeb was the Vice Chairman for Operations at the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC).

Shoeb graduated from Cairo University’s Faculty of Engineering in 1980. His previous posts included Assistant to the Chairman of Agiba Petroleum Company, Vice Chairman of Ganope Holding Company and Chairman of Assuit Refinery.

“We are very pleased to have Mohamed on board as we begin to focus on a number of new investments in the energy sector,” said Citadel Capital Founder and Chairman Ahmed Heikal. “He will oversee all of our investments in this crucial sector which include our energy distribution platform TAQA Arabia, the Egyptian Refining Company, Mashreq our fuel bunkering and storage operation, Tawazon our solid waste management platform and our newest investment to import and distribute natural gas,” added Heikal.

“I look forward to providing strategic guidance on all of Citadel Capital’s investments in the energy sector. The opportunity to work on an integrated energy portfolio of this breadth is fascinating: It spans from petroleum refining to the distribution of refined products, from electricity generation to the distribution of electricity and gas. I am moreover very excited about the nascent waste-to-energy business and, in the near future, alternative energy. Citadel Capital’s energy portfolio is structured with a clear vision and will be a cornerstone of Egypt’s energy security policy going forward,” said Shoeb.

Earlier this month, Citadel Capital announced it had partnered with QInvest and other Qatari investors in a joint venture that will construct and own the facilities required to position a floating LNG storage and regasification unit (FSRU) at a location in Egypt to deliver natural gas to high-volume end-users.

The joint venture will import LNG, regasify it at the FSRU, transmit it through the Egyptian national natural gas grid and market the natural gas to local high-volume end-users, helping ease a chronic shortage of natural gas on the domestic market.

This marks Citadel Capital’s second large project in Egypt’s energy sector, following this year’s successful financial close of the US$ 3.7 billion financing package for the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC) project.

Energy is one of five core industries in which Citadel Capital focuses, alongside mining, agriculture and consumer foods, transportation and logistics and cement manufacturing.

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LNG World News Staff, December 17, 2012; Image: Citadel Capital