Niall Henderson leads Mergers and Acquisition activity for bp in the gas and low carbon sectors.  

Niall has led over $30bn of M&A transactions for the bp Group across all business sectors and in many international jurisdictions. Activity has included creation of world leading platforms in onshore and offshore renewables (Jera-Nex-bp and Lightsourcebp) as well as in oil and gas (bpX Energy and Akerbp). 

Niall was previously CFO for bp’s businesses in the Caspian and Middle East Regions overseeing all commercial activity related to bp’s world class oil and gas value chains in the region. Niall’s contribution was recognised through the award of the “Tereggi” (Progress) Medal of Honour by the President of Azerbaijan.  

Niall is a Sloan Fellow (MBA) from MIT and is a Chartered Engineer with Master of Engineering degrees in Chemical Engineering (Cambridge) and Petroleum Engineering (Heriot-Watt). Niall enjoys supporting entrepreneurial activity, both social entrepreneurs and commercial start-ups and has acted as NED for a world leader in Building Integrated Photovoltaics.

Lauren Wilder, Senior Corporate Negotiator, Chevron

Lauren Wilder is a Senior Corporate Negotiator in Chevron’s Corporate Business Development team, specializing in upstream acquisitions and divestments to support Chevron’s Oil, Products, and Gas business in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.   She has previously in supported the Chevron New Energies business with a focus on originating and negotiating investment opportunities related to CCUS and Carbon Offsets.   Prior to joining Chevron in 2022, Lauren was with Repsol for a number of years where she was head of the Upstream Americas Business Development team and executed transactions in a number of jurisdictions including Latam, the Caribbean, Alaska North Slope, and Lower 48.  She began her career at Hess Corporation, in various commercial and negotiations roles of increasing responsibility, supporting exploration and development teams in Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ghana, Gabon, Kurdistan, and Gulf of Mexico.  During her nearly 20-year career, she has actively served in various Director and Executive Committee roles of the Association of International Energy Negotiators and was a founding member of the AIEN-Young Negotiators subgroup in 2008.  She holds a BS in Biological Sciences and an MBA in Supply Chain/Logistics, both from the University of Alabama. 

Elnara Rzayeva, JV Manager, BP Azerbaijan'; AIEN-WNG CIS-FSU Lead

Elnara Rzayeva is JV Manager at bp, with more than 20 years of experience in the energy industry.