In a first change of leadership for Qatar Shell since 2012, it has been announced that Michiel Kool will succeed current vice-president and chairman of Qatar Shell Companies, Wael Sawan on 1st July 2015.  
Kool is currently the executive vice president (Safety, Environment and Social Performance) for Royal Dutch Shell, based in the Netherlands.  
Meanwhile, Qatar Shell said Sawan has been appointed as executive vice-president (Deepwater) and will this summer move with his family to New Orleans, US, to take up his new role leading Shell’s oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and as well as the company’s Deepwater portfolio in Nigeria and Brazil.  
Sawan has worked for Shell in Qatar since 2008, and was promoted to the top role in April 2012.
Kool, a Dutch national, has worked for Shell since 1984, having obtained a M Sc degree in mining engineering , and has held executive vice president positions since 2005.  
Kool has worked in Gabon, New Zealand, Oman, the Netherlands, Brazil, the UK and Singapore.  In particular he spent three years leading Shell’s Upstream and Gas business across Asia, making him ideally suited to lead Shell’s LNG and Gas-to-Liquids portfolio in Qatar.  
Kool said, “I am honoured to have been appointed to, without doubt, one of the most important roles in Royal Dutch Shell.  Qatar is a very significant heartland of Shell’s portfolio and our long-standing partnership with Qatar Petroleum is enormously valued at the highest levels of the company.  
“I look forward to helping our 1,500 staff in Qatar achieve new heights of safe and reliable production at Pearl GTL, the world’s largest gas-to-liquids plant, and supporting Shell’s role in Qatargas 4, the global pacesetter liquefied natural gas plant for Shell.  I also very much look forward to building strong relationships with Shell’s numerous partners across Qatar”.