Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) said it has appointed industry veteran David Cook as the new executive officer and head of Upstream to lead Taqa’s global upstream division.

A publicly-listed company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Taqa is majority owned by the Abu Dhabi Government.

David joins Taqa following more than 20 years with BP, TNK-BP, and Amoco, said a statement from Taqa.

Most recently he was vice president for BP Russia, and also sat on the board of directors for three BP–Rosneft joint ventures. Prior to his last role, David worked in various global roles for BP, based in North America, Russia, and the UK.

David holds a PhD in Geological Sciences from Michigan State University.

In his new role, David will report directly to Abdulla Saif Al-Nuaimi, CEO and MD, and Carl Sheldon, general manager, and will be based at the Group’s corporate headquarters in Abu Dhabi.

Taqa's crude oil and natural gas production averaged more than 132,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first half of 2010, representing more than half of the Group’s revenues for the period.

The upstream portfolio had approximately 574 million barrels of oil equivalent of proven and probable reserves at December 31, 2009.

On the appointment, Al-Nuaimi said, "David has extensive experience across the financial, commercial and operational aspects of the upstream sector, and his insight and leadership will prove invaluable as we continue to invest in our global upstream portfolio."-TradeArabia News Service