Rob Sherwin

VP Corporate Relations for Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa Shell

Rob began his career at Shell, working in natural gas commercial, marketing and strategy roles, before focusing on Middle East new business development and government relations.  In 2006, he left Shell to join The Foreign & Commonwealth Office as the first Middle East Energy Adviser to the UK government, working across Whitehall and with Middle East governments and National Oil Companies on the twin challenges of energy security and climate change.  Rob then spent 5 years building and leading the Middle East and Africa practice of the energy sector management consultancy Regester Larkin, based in Abu Dhabi, working with both private and state-owned energy companies, and complex joint ventures between the two.

In 2012 Rob returned to Shell as General Manager Corporate Affairs and Deputy Country Chairman for Qatar Shell, at that time Shell’s most valuable single operating entity.  In 2016, after more than a decade in the Arabian Gulf, he moved to Shell HQ in The Netherlands to lead a team providing external relations support to all upstream oil and gas deals and transactions during a period in which Shell delivered on a 3-year commitment to divest $30 billion of assets.  Prior to his current role, Rob was Shell’s VP Global Media Relations, managing Shell’s press officers and editorial writers around the world, and serving as principal communications adviser to the CEO and CFO.

Rob has a First Class degree in Commerce from the University of Birmingham.  He is married, with two children.


AOW 2023 Programme Sessions

PANEL DISCUSSION : Driving Social Value for African Economies Through Local Content

Africa’s oil and gas can be a conduit for its development, if delivered on an equitable basis through a focus on local content and domestic value creation. Achieving stronger stakeholder collaboration between government and private sector is paramount to ensure oil and gas can deliver a legacy of prosperity and economic benefits to host countries.  

  • What does an equitable local content policy in oil and gas look like for Africa?
  • What can operators do to empower local economies and develop the domestic capacities required to support national development agendas?
  • How to ensure local markets, local people and local communities gain long term benefit from oil and gas investment?
  • How to empower SMEs and national technology and service providers to access oil and gas projects?
  • How can policy support local content to become a positive enabler for local businesses?

Tuesday 10 October 17:00 - 17:45 Stage A

Plenary

Add to calendar 10/10/2023 17:00 10/10/2023 17:45 PANEL DISCUSSION : Driving Social Value for African Economies Through Local Content

Africa’s oil and gas can be a conduit for its development, if delivered on an equitable basis through a focus on local content and domestic value creation. Achieving stronger stakeholder collaboration between government and private sector is paramount to ensure oil and gas can deliver a legacy of prosperity and economic benefits to host countries.  

  • What does an equitable local content policy in oil and gas look like for Africa?
  • What can operators do to empower local economies and develop the domestic capacities required to support national development agendas?
  • How to ensure local markets, local people and local communities gain long term benefit from oil and gas investment?
  • How to empower SMEs and national technology and service providers to access oil and gas projects?
  • How can policy support local content to become a positive enabler for local businesses?
Stage A Africa/Johannesburg