About

Nai Xiaoyong, deputy general manager of CNOOC Iraq Limited is the leader of the legal department which has been critical to the recent development and success of the company, the operator of the Missan Oilfield in Iraq. The team has expanded to include an audit function and has been critical in the preparation for the bid of a new licensing round for Iraq. Nai Xiaoyong, led in establishing the legal management system and positively explore the overseas project legal risk management.

As a result, the company successfully prevented all sorts of legal risks and ensured the smooth running of petroleum operations. The team won second prize for 22nd State Enterprise Management Innovation Achievement, the company’s first award. Also in the legal team, Xin Zhiqiang, managed the improvement of the entire chart flow of risk management system from due diligence, tendering, contract negotiations, signing and closing, to contract execution. Wang Hemeng, a lawyer in the legal team, chaired the study on operatorship management under a technical service contract model, through which the firm intensified CNOOC’s overseas capabilities in management, resources utilisation, risk control, etc. Xiaoyong, has said that his team has had to have ‘more caution in our yearly budget and ensure all risks are well attended to’ in this increasingly difficult petroleum market, as prices drop and regulation increases, but his team continues to be one step ahead.