S-Oil CEO Gives Collegians Lecture on Energy Security
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
S-Oil Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Samir A. Tubayyeb made a rare outing Monday to give university students a special lecture on ``energy security’’ through the partnership between oil producing and consuming countries.
In the lecture given in English at Korea University, Tubayyeb stressed the need to enhance energy security through the establishment of a ``win-win partnership’’ between oil producing and consuming countries.
``Energy security is becoming more important due to the Asia-Pacific region’s rapid economic growth,’’ he told the audience. ``So a number of countries seek to develop alternative energies. But oil still remains the most efficient and influential resource.’’
Though the direct development could be a good method in theory to enhance the energy security, he said, it looks less feasible given the constraints in reality such as the huge investment costs and a high possibility of failure.
``Considering international market conditions such as the regional concentration of crude oil, a win-win partnership between oil producing and consuming countries seems the most realistic and effective way to enhance energy security,’’ he concluded.
Some 100 professors as well as students at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) of Korea University attended the lecture, which was prepared amid soaring international crude oil prices.
Tubayyeb, who came from Saudi Arabia to take office in Seoul in 2005, has led S-Oil to become the most profitable oil refiner in South Korea by taking full advantage of its state-of-the-art facilities and strong competitiveness in export markets.
S-Oil, fueled by its outstanding performance, was listed in the Global 500 Companies by U.S. business magazine Fortune in 2007. ``Our CEO plans to have more public events for closer contacts with the local people here,’’ a company spokesman said.