Empowerment of Women in the Gas and Oil Industry and the Young Adipec Engineer will be two new categories under the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec) Awards, to be held in Abu Dhabi in November.

The Adipec award recognises and rewards excellence within individual projects and departments of gas and oil companies in the Mena region, said a statement from the organisers.

The category for ‘Empowerment of Women in the Gas and Oil Industry’ seeks to highlight companies that recognise the value of diversity and are committed to strengthening women's participation in the sector, particularly in leadership roles.

The Young Adipec Engineer award comes as part of its efforts to nurture future leaders and innovators in the sector. Open to individuals who hold less than four years of experience in the industry, the award will recognise the potential of individuals to serve as successful team leaders.

Steve Peacock, the COO of Mubadala Petroleum, said: “It is unfortunate that women need to prove themselves more than men in most industries and cultures – an attitude that is especially hard to understand when the work is intellectual rather than physical! Women do not need any favours; their work speaks for them.”

“However, it is good to specifically showcase their talent as a way of demonstrating and reinforcing the point. The industry has some very talented women holding technical and business leadership potential that we must recognise, nurture and further develop,” he added.

Adipec Awards will close submissions on August 1 across all categories including Best Gas and Oil Project, Best Gas and Oil Innovation or Technology, Best Gas and Oil HSE Project, Best CSR Initiative, Empowerment of Women in Gas and Oil Industry, and Young Adipec Engineer.

The 2013 awards, to be held on November 10, will be sponsored by OMV, Partex Oil and Gas and Jodco. - TradeArabia News Service