Our Team

Overview

Our Success Lies Predominately On Our People And Institutional Capabilities
Since the conception of TIMOR GAP, we have attracted the right talent to reach our full potential. We firmly believe that having established a strong institutional and leadership foundation over the years has been fundamental to our ability to respond and adapt to the significant changes and upcoming challenges ahead, including economic and social recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our Employees

We are proud of the outstanding group of diverse and dedicated individuals who work within and with our company. Our employees are our most valuable assets, and we strive to provide them with opportunities to further develop their professional skills as we move toward achieving our mission as an organization.

Our team is comprised of 134 employees. This number is expected to gradually rise in the coming years, following the growth and development of the different business lines as well as our asset portfolio.

TIMOR GAP will continue investing in its people and help them develop the right skills and capabilities needed to build a successful team. This also applies with our partners who have adhered to our robust local content strategy in order to guarantee that Timorese talent is being developed and deployed. For example, our projects on the ground, including Suai Fuel Station and Suai Airport Jet Fuel Depot, employ exclusively local staff, fully trained by our business partners.

Our Leadership

President & CEO – Mr. Antonio de Sousa

Antonio de Sousa is President & CEO of Timor GAP, E.P., Timor-Leste’s national oil company where he manages the identification, development and optimization of the strategic and commercial value of oil and gas of the country’s resources. Mr. Sousa’s extensive career includes more than 20 years of experience in the oil & gas sector, with specialization in reservoir engineering/simulation, geomechanics, management, politics and advocacy.

Prior to being appointed President & CEO of Timor GAP (July 2020), Mr. Sousa served as its Vice-President (2014-2020) and one of the first Members of its Board of Directors, being nominate shortly Timor GAP was established in 2011. He has also served as Timor-Leste’s Commissioner for the JPDA and as Timor-Leste’s Greater Sunrise Commissioner (2007-2018). Mr. Sousa also previously served as a Reservoir/Simulation Engineer for Premier Oil Plc. (Aberdeen, Scotland), and as a Reservoir Simulation and Geomechanics Engineer for Schlumberger (Paris, France), and in other positions in offshore Timor Sea and Malaysia.

Mr. Sousa holds a BSc in Mining Engineering (1998), from Bandung Institute of Technology, and a MSc in Petroleum Engineering from the Norwegian University of Science & Technology.

Member of the Board – Mr. Gabrial Aparicio

Mr. Gabriel Aparicio gained his BSc in Geology from Institute of Technology of Adhi Tama Surabaya (ITATS) and his master’s degree from University of Evora, Portugal with a major in Geosciences, in 2009.

Mr. Aparicio has one year of experience as Head of the Laboratory of the Secretary of State for Natural Resources (SERN Timor-Leste) and more than eight years as university lecturer and Head of Department of Geology and Petroleum at the Timor Lorosa’e National University.

In 2020, Mr. Aparicio assumed the role of President of the Institute of Petroleum and Geology – Public Institute.

 

 

Member of the Board – Mr. Amandio Soares

Mr. Amandio Soares graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Petroleum Geology, specialisation in Facies Analysis (Basin Analysis), from the Padjadaran University, Bandung, Indonesia. Mr. Soares has more than 20 years working in the oil and gas sector, holding an extensive career within the Ministry with supervision power over the petroleum activities, as a Director for several National Directorates, Senior Geologist and Advisor.

Previously, Mr. Amandio Soares performed the role as a Senior Geologist at the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals, being later appointed Senior Advisor to Minister of Petroleum and Minerals. Mr. Soares joined TIMOR GAP in August 2020 as a Member of the Board of Directors and as Principal Advisor and Government Relation for the company.

 

 

Vice President – Mr. José da Conceição

Mr. José da Conceição holds a Master Degree (LLM) in International Petroleum Law & Policy, from Center for Energy, Petroleum, Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee, Scotland, UK. He also holds another Master Degree (MDip) in area of International Business Law from London College, United Kingdom. In 2011, Mr. José graduated with BA Degree in Commercial Law and in 2010 he obtained BTEC of HND in Law from Solent Business School, Southampton Solent University, UK.

In 2008, Mr. José completed Advance study for National VQ in Motor Vehicle engineering at Southampton City College in United Kingdom. Mr. José has an extensive work experience, including approximately 8 years as the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) and Legal Analyst for Timor-Leste Joint Commissioners for JPDA and Sunrise Commission under the former President & CEO of TIMOR GAP. Mr. José also worked for almost 9 years for various companies in the United Kingdom and he was also a part-time lecturer for the final year of undergraduate students in area of International Marketing and International Trade at Dili Institute of Business (IOB). In July, 2020, Mr. José was appointed Vice-President of TIMOR GAP.

Managing Director, Downstream Business Unit – Mr. Francelino Boavida

Mr. Francelino Boavida graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Business, Major in International Business with Minor in Applied Marketing from University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. He received an Excellence Award on Export Plan Development for an Australian Tank Liner Company during his final year of Study. Mr. Boavida has several years of working experience with Donor Organisations, such as, Work Bank – GTZ and USAID. He worked as Business Trainer and Marketing Specialist during six (6) years and later served as short term Business Development Consultant with DAI contractor of USAID’s Private Sector Development Project.

Mr. Francelino Boavida joined TIMOR GAP in 2012, as a Junior Chartering Analyst, professionally progressing steadily through the years within the company. Mr. Boavida became Trading and Marine Chartering Team Leader in 2014, and Business & Trading Manager in 2016. He assumed the role of Deputy Managing Director of the South Horizon Offshore Services, Lda., successful leading the joint venture company to win the Bayu-Undan Topside Engineering Contract. Mr. Boavida become a Managing Director of the Downstream Business Unit and a Board Member of TIMOR GAP in 2020.

Managing Director, Upstream Business Unit – Mr. Josè Tilman

Mr. José Tilman holds a Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering specialized in reservoir engineering, University of Stavanger, UiS – Norway. Mr. Tilman has over 18 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, and more than 9 years of experience in operating offshore production equipment, particularly dehydration and cold processes equipment, wellhead equipment and fractionation plant. He worked has mechanical operations technician, from 2003 to 2005, and as production technician, from 2005 to 2009, in the Bayu-Undan Recycle Project, in the Timor Sea.

Mr. Tilman joined TIMOR GAP in 2012 and he has more than 9 years working for Exploration & Production (Upstream sector) of the company. Previous main roles with TIMOR GAP including leading and supervising teams of Drilling, Development & Reservoir Management and Business Support departments of E&P Unit. Other role is performing reservoir studies for Bayu-Undan and Greater Sunrise fields, located in Timor Sea, on how to optimize development scenario for Greater Sunrise field as well as Bayu-Undan field post Production Sharing Contract (PSC) 2022 as part of resources management and optimization strategy. Currently, Mr. José Tilman holds the position of Managing Director for Upstream Business Unit, managing, leading, supervising and coordinating all upstream projects for the company.

Managing Director, Tasi Mane Project – Mr. Francisco Ferreira

Mr. Francisco Ferreira holds a Diploma of Petroleum Engineering, from the Central Institute of Technology, Western Australia and a Bachelor of Petroleum Engineering, from the Dili Institute of Technology. Mr. Ferreira has been working in the Oil and Gas public institution sector for more than 15 years.

During the period of 10 years, he mostly worked as an onshore Oil and Gas officer with the role and responsibility was to identify and mapped all the Oil and Gas seeps in the onshore area, also taking part on the first onshore seismic survey; took part with Universities and International Oil Company in the onshore Geological, Geophysical field survey covering the entire Timor Island, and has experience working with ANPM (Minerals and Petroleum National Authority), as a Downstream Analyst, with the role and responsibility was to assist the Downstream Director in order to prepare the guideline as well identify the downstream business opportunity in order to stabilize the regulation related to the downstream activities.

Mr. Francisco Ferreira has more than 8 years working closely with Tasi Mane Project as GIS analyst with the role and responsibilities of mapping all the south coast project site, leading the Interministerial team to conduct the socialization, lands and properties identification, data collection and analysis, data publication and contract signature for the lands and properties affected by the project. In August 2020, Mr. Francisco Ferreira was appointed Managing Director for the Tasi Mane Project Unit of TIMOR GAP.