Taqa to vote on board of directors with some new names

Taqa has proposed an expanded board, half of whom are new faces, as it sets a new strategy.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company – known as Taqa – received nominations for its new board of directors, with four new names including the acting director-general of its main shareholder, the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea).

The seven-member board – which will be selected from eight nominees – has already been approved by Taqa’s nomination and remuneration committee and is expected to be approved at its annual general meeting tomorrow.

Taqa is in a transition phase after a long period of deep retrenchment and having realised a Dh22 billion loss of value on its oil and gas assets in its accounts last month, reflecting the price slump of the past few years.

The company is planning to raise investment this year as oil prices start to revive.

Taqa’s overseers are expected to set a strategy that will at least nurture the oil and gas assets, possibly with a view to selling them, while also using steady earnings from the core Abu Dhabi and international power plant operations to pay down its Dh70bn of debt. One of the nominees for board membership is Saif Al Sayari, who was seconded last September from Taqa, where he was head of energy solutions, to become the acting director-general of Adwea, which owns a little more than 74 per cent of Taqa.

Mr Al Sayeri has a PhD in petroleum engineering from Imperial College, London and has risen quickly since joining Taqa seven years ago.

The annual general meeting will also elect a chairman of the board and vice-chairmen. The chairman of the current board, whose three-year term is expiring, is Saeed Al Hajeri, who is a finance expert and an executive director at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. He is also nominated to continue on the board.

The three other new names nominated to the board are Khalifa Al Qemzi, also of Adia, Mohammed Al Suwaidi, who is an energy executive with experience at the state oil company, Adnoc, and Khaleefa Al Mehairi, also of Adnoc and its petrochemicals joint venture.

Existing board members Abdulaziz Al Hemaidi, Salem Al ­Dhaheri and Khaled Al Mass are re-nominated.

All of the nominated directors are independent apart from Mr Al Sayeri, who is also the only proposed executive member of the board.

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