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Russell Smith

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Having spent 40 years at BP, Russell is known for initiating, shaping, and delivering large, complex energy and infrastructure projects – often multi-billion-dollar investments – across diverse technical, commercial, fiscal, social, and regulatory settings worldwide.

In his final seven years at BP, Russell was Vice President, Global Projects, where he created and led BP’s Global Concept Development organisation. In this role, he:

  • Was responsible for portfolio screening, concept development and business-case decision-making for all BP energy projects globally, from early opportunity framing through to Final Investment Decision (FID).
  • Built and led the organisation: setting the strategy; establishing centres of excellence in Houston and Sunbury; embedding new ways of working; integrating front-end, project originator, and engineering teams; and creating a culture that enabled selection of the right projects with the right development concepts.
  • Improved the quality and competitiveness of projects progressed, with a focus on standardisation, trade-offs, robust cost and schedule ranges and benchmarking.

Since leaving BP, Russell has focused on the energy transition and on finding practical solutions to the climate challenge, helping enterprises, governments, and communities tackle difficult challenges involving large, complex projects. Recent consultancy experience includes:

  • Executive Projects Advisor at Rockflow Resources consulting for Staatsolie (Suriname’s national energy company) on their offshore development projects.
  • Project Director and Advisor at ET Fuels, a start up focused on decarbonising shipping through hyperscaling green methanol.
  • Project Development Advisor at Airhive, a start up with a mission to design and build direct CO2 capture modules using novel applications of proven technology.

Russell holds a Geoscience degree from the University of Wales, Swansea, and is a graduate of MIT’s Projects Academy.

He also supports not-for-profit social enterprises and charities, contributing project expertise and philanthropy to Moving Beyond, This is Agency, Kinship In Nature Forest Schools, and Rescue Through Recycling.