Six key people leading the development of sultanate’s power sector: Saud Nassir al-Shukaily, Ali Mohammed al-Balushi, Arnaud de Limburg Stirum, Navneet Kasbekar, Qais Saud al-Zakwani and Zahir Khamis al-Bahri
Saud Nassir al-Shukaily
Position Chairman, Oman Power & Water Procurement Company (OPWP)
Biography Saud Nassir al-Shukaily has been chairman of the board of directors of OPWP since April 2009. OPWP is a subsidiary of state-owned Electricity Holding Company. Al-Shukaily is also the secretary general for taxation at Oman’s Finance Ministry. He sits on the board of several Omani companies, including deputy chairman at Oman Airports Management Company, Oman Refinery Company and Qatari-Omani Investment Company. He is also a member of the board of Sohar Industrial Port Company, Bahrain-based Gulf International Bank and the UAE’s Dubai Mercantile Exchange. Al-Shukaily graduated in 1993 with a master’s degree in development management from American University in the US. He also has a bachelor of science degree in business management from the University of South Carolina, also in the US, which he received in 1989.
Contact Tel: (+968) 2450 8400
Ali Mohammed al-Balushi
Position Plant manager, Al-Ghubrah Power and Desalination Company
Biography Ali Mohammed al-Balushi joined Al-Ghubrah Power and Desalination Company in February 2007 as operation manager. He took up his current position in January 2009. As plant manager, he reports to the chief executive officer and supervises operations, maintenance, planning and services activities. Before joining Al-Ghubrah Power and Desalination Company, Al-Balushi worked for Omani construction company Sogex from 1987 to 2007. He worked in various positions as deputy operation superintendent, shift charge engineer, shift supervisor and boiler and auxiliaries operator. Al-Balushi has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Glasgow Caledonian University in Oman. He obtained a diploma in mechanical production engineering in 1993 in the UK, along with a national vocational qualification in general engineering.
Contact Tel: (+968) 2458 4987
Arnaud de Limburg Stirum
Position Chief executive officer (CEO), Sohar Power Company SAOG
Biography Arnaud de Limburg Stirum is the CEO of Sohar Power Company. The firm is owned by France’s GDF Suez and four Omani companies, with 35 per cent listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange. Sohar Power owns and operates the largest generation and water desalination plant in the sultanate. Prior to joining Sohar Power, Stirum was CEO of Oman’s United Power Company, which was also owned by GDF Suez. Earlier, he was involved in three private power projects in Bahrain: Al-Ezzel, Al-Hidd and Al-Dur, which were awarded to GDF Suez. Stirum also worked on the Marafiq independent water and power project in Saudi Arabia and the Shuweihat S2 project in Abu Dhabi. Stirum has a bachelor’s degree in law from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium and a postgraduate degree in international relations from the London School of Economics in the UK.
Contact Tel: (+968) 2440 0600
Navneet Kasbekar
Position CEO, Al-Kamil Power Company
Biography Navneet Kasbekar has been CEO of Al-Kamil Power Company since 2006 having joined the company in 2001 as finance director. Al-Kamil Power Company is a subsidiary of UK-based International Power and operates a 285MW gas-fired power plant in Oman. From 1995 to 2000, Kasbekar was general manager and director of Muscat Real Estate Development Company, and oversaw the construction of its three hotel properties in Muscat, Al-Sawadi and London. Prior to this, he was general manager at Computer Stationery Industry, a firm listed on the Muscat Securities Market, for six years from 1989. He also worked as general manager for the local Oman Printers and Stationers. Before moving to Oman, Kasbekar practised as an accountant in Mumbai and Goa in India between 1975 and 1981. Kasbekar graduated in 1975 from Bombay University in India, with a degree in commerce.
Contact Tel: (+968) 9932 8956
Qais Saud al-Zakwani
Position Acting deputy executive director, Authority for Electricity Regulation, Oman
Biography Qais Saud al-Zakwani is acting deputy executive director of Oman’s Authority for Electricity Regulation (AER). After working as an economist for Oman’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority between 2002-06, Al Zakwani joined AER in 2007 as regulatory adviser in the office of the executive director. He was responsible for overseeing restructuring and privatisation projects, and for framing regulatory policies, including security of supply and fuel diversity issues, within the sultanate’s electricity sector. In his current position, Al-Zakwani is overseeing a number of projects, including independent power projects in Oman. He is also working on the introduction of cost-reflective tariffs. Al-Zakwani graduated with a degree in finance and economics in 2002. He has a master’s degree in utility regulation from the London School of Economics in the UK.
Contact Tel: (+968) 2460 9700
Zahir Khamis al-Bahri
Position General manager, Wadi al-Jizzi Power Company
Biography Zahir Khamis al-Bahri is general manager of Wadi al-Jizzi Power Company, a state-owned power generation company. It operates a 297MW natural gas-fired power plant in Wadi Jizzi in Sohar, Oman. Al-Bahri previously worked at Oman’s Electricity and Water Ministry, joining in 1999 as project engineer of desalination plants. He worked on the unbundling of electricity utilities in Oman, overseeing the transfer of responsibility from the government to new commercial entities. Al-Bahri was also involved in establishing four independent power and water firms and has since worked as general manager for three of them, including his current company. Al-Bahri graduated in 1992 from Sultan Qaboos University in Oman with a degree in mechanical engineering. He also has a master’s degree in desalination technology from Glasgow University in the UK.
Contact Tel: (+968) 2439 2700
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