Petrofac’s new chief executive officially takes over

McDermott’s Tareq Kawash has officially taken over the role of Group Chief Executive and Executive Director at Petrofac after Sami Iskander stepped down in order to pursue other interests.

The oilfield services provider confirmed that the new group chief executive started the role as of 1 April and that Iskander has left the company and stepped down from the board.

“I have known Petrofac throughout my career and have always admired its unique execution capability. I look forward to leading the team in the next stage of its journey back to growth and leadership in the sector, building on the excellent progress Sami has made,” Kawash said.

Kawash joins Petrofac from McDermott, where he was most recently senior vice president of the Onshore and Offshore Business Lines and a member of the company’s executive committee.

Iskander joined Petrofac as deputy chief executive on 1 November 2020 and, following a short transition period, assumed the role of group chief executive on 1 January 2021, after Ayman Asfari decided to retire from the role at the end of 2020.

“We are delighted to welcome Tareq Kawash as our new Group Chief Executive. Tareq has joined us from McDermott, where he was most recently Senior Vice President of its Global Onshore and Middle East Offshore Business Lines, and a member of McDermott’s Executive Committee,” said René Medori, non-executive chairman.

“With 30 years’ international EPC leadership experience, and an impressive business development track record, Tareq is exceptionally well placed to build on the foundations laid by Sami.”

In terms of the company’s recent activities, Petrofac signed a new master service agreement (MSA) with ICR Integrity, a Scotland-headquartered provider of specialist repair, inspection and integrity solutions, last month.

Under the MSA valued at over £1 million per annum, ICR will provide Petrofac with the delivery of specialist repair and inspection services for all duty-holder assets in the North and Southern North Sea.