EAGE Eastern Mediterranean Workshop

MEET OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKERS!

The 5th Eastern Mediterranean Workshop will open with keynote presentations delivered by distinguished experts at the forefront of their disciplines. Each keynote will set the stage for each of the workshop’s topics, offering critical insights and the latest advancements to spark in-depth discussion and collaboration.

Hesham Hendy

Egypt Exploration General Manager, BP

Monday, 1 December 2025, 09:00

Keynote: "Egypt’s Mediterranean Momentum: Exploration to Vision"

Hesham Hendy, a veteran of Shell and BP, has 35 years of experience in exploration, commercial, and upstream sectors across various regions including the East Mediterranean, Egypt, Malaysia, Norway, Greenland and more. Currently, he is the BP Exploration General Manager, overseeing exploration strategy, new access opportunities, and operational delivery for Egypt's seismic and drilling activities. Hesham is a proven hydrocarbon finder in multiple basins across the world and has extensive experience in managing exploration and development concessions, commercial deal-making, exploration asset planning, and new venture start-ups.

Petros Papazis

General Manager, Exploration – North Africa & Mediterranean Frontier, Chevron

Monday, 1 December, 13:50

Mr. Papazis has over 20 years of oil and gas experience with Chevron, where he has held assignments of increasing responsibility in Exploration and Asset Development spanning multiple countries and basins during his tenure with the company. Most recently, he served as the Exploration Manager for the Western Gulf of America, where he led all aspects of portfolio management, prospect maturation, and deal structures to deliver commercial discoveries in a core Exploration area for Chevron. His notable accomplishments include his role as an integration team member for both the 2020 Chevron-Noble merger and the 2025 Chevron-Hess merger, leading the Chevron Exploration operating model design during the most transformative organisational change since the 2001 Chevron-Texaco merger, and serving as a Personnel Development Representative for the Earth Science community in Chevron.

Alexander Zarkhidze

Chief Geophysicist D&I Exploration Data & Geosolutions, slb

Tuesday, 2 December 2025, 09:00

Keynote “Innovative Seabed solutions at scale for exploration & development”

Alexander Zarkhidze has over 32 years of industry experience and currently holds the position of global Chief Geophysicist Exploration Data and Geosolutions for SLB. Mr. Zarkhidze has worked in numerous Operations, Data Processing and Research Centers in UAE, UK, Russia, Oman, France, Norway, India, Egypt and United States. Alexander’s current responsibilities include geophysical research, technical management and coordination of all areas of survey design, acquisition and imaging of geophysical data worldwide for SLB.

Jamie Collard

Exploration Research Manager

Westwood Global Energy Group

Wednesday, 3 December 2025, 09:00

Keynote: "The State of Exploration Globally and in the Eastern Mediterranean"

Jamie joined Westwood Energy in 2015 and is a Research Manager in the Wildcat Team. In his role Jamie monitors global exploration activity, with a deep focus on the Eastern Mediterranean and North America. He leads production of Westwood’s monthly exploration report as well as preparing research notes on various aspects of global exploration activity and performance. He regularly presents to senior staff in client companies and has presented at a number of global exploration conferences. Jamie holds a BSc in Geology from the University of Bristol and a MSc in Petroleum Geoscience from the University of Manchester.