Mohammad Dawas Al-Ajmi is a distinguished petroleum geoscientist and leadership figure in Kuwait’s oil and gas sector, with over three decades of technical and strategic experience. As the Dorra Subsurface Sponsor, he serves as Kuwait’s executive representative in the Dorra Field Development Program, aligning national interests with project value, risk governance, and cross-border coordination. He also acts as Co-Sponsor, providing high-level guidance, escalation authority, and cohesion to enable timely, top-tier decision-making.

Career highlights include early hands-on roles with Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) as a Wellsite Geologist, progressing to Senior Exploration Geologist in 2003, and driving fracture modeling for Jurassic high-temperature, high-pressure carbonate reservoirs during a formative stint with Exxon in Houston (1997–1998). His contributions to Jurassic discoveries and gas development between 1999 and 2005 are well documented. He later led multidisciplinary teams as Team Leader of Exploration and Geophysical Solutions, and eight years as Manager of the Exploration Group, shaping Kuwait’s exploration strategy and enterprise inputs.

In 2024, he joined KGOC as Advisor to Joint Operations, expanding his remit toward the Dorra Field Development Project (2025). He holds an MBA from Maastricht School of Management and a Bachelor’s in Geology from Kuwait University, underscoring his blend of technical mastery and strategic leadership. Notably, he established KGOC’s Staff Capability Development Program to strengthen subsurface expertise and talent growth.

John is the VP Geophysics for the Imaging & Technology group at TGS. After a PhD and PostDoc at Imperial College, London utilizing FWI to image, amongst other things, the Chicxulub impact crater - John has held positions in at PGS, ION and TGS, both in R&D and data processing operations. As VP of Geophysics, he needs to understand all aspects of seismic signal processing, model building and imaging, and how this affects geophysical deliverables. 

Manoj Vallikkat Thachaparambil is a seasoned exploration and development advisor with SLB, bringing over 23 years of uninterrupted experience in the oil and gas industry. Currently based in Houston, USA, he has a proven track record of leading successful exploration efforts, including globally impactful discoveries, and has conducted evaluations in nearly two dozen basins across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. 

Manoj’s expertise spans both conventional and unconventional exploration and development. He has led projects in a wide variety of tectonic and depositional settings, including frontier exploration, play-opening projects, and the development of stacked reservoirs. His leadership and strategic insight have been instrumental in the successful exploration and development of reserves across the globe. 

He holds a PhD in Reservoir Geology from the University of Reading and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Reservoir Engineering from the University of Heriot-Watt, UK. Manoj also holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Applied Geology and Geology from the University of Pondicherry and the University of Calicut, India, respectively. 

In addition to his technical achievements, Manoj is an active member of professional bodies and has authored nearly two dozen publications. He has filed six US patents and is a certified trainer under the NExT program. He has also led multiple industry-academic collaboration programs, contributing to the advancement of the geoscience and engineering communities.