Brazil's Petrobras Wins "Company" and "Producer of the Year" Honors at Platts Global Energy Awards as "CEO" Goes to Dow Chemical's Liveris

NEW YORK, Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Winners from seven countries and four continents walked away with top honors at the 13th annual Platts Global Energy Awards held Thursday night at a black-tie dinner in New York City.

Brazil's Petrobras, one of the world's largest integrated oil and gas companies, snagged two coveted awards – the "Energy Company of the Year" and "Energy Producer of the Year" – and Andrew Liveris, chief executive officer of U.S.-based Dow Chemical Company, scored "CEO of the Year."

"Petrobras is to be congratulated for its impressive dual win, earned for its very real contributions to future generations through its new oil finds and production growth," said Larry Neal, president of Platts, a leading global energy, petrochemicals and metals information provider and host of the event.

In selecting Petrobras for honors in two performance categories, the Platts Global Energy Awards' independent panel of judges noted the oil giant's solid track record of operational achievements, in particular its deep-water "pre-salt" oil discoveries, which are estimated to equal nearly half of Brazil's current total oil output. The judges also highlighted the firm's development of advanced technologies that speed wells into production, its nearly 90% drilling success rate in 2010, its aggressive refinery upgrades and expansion, and its firm focus on environmental safety.

"CEO of the Year" honors went to Australian born and educated Andrew Liveris for vision and leadership at Michigan's Dow Chemical Company, one of the world's top plastics, chemicals and agricultural products companies, and for his long-standing commitment to public service through such entities as the President's Export Council. Through skillful leadership, Liveris has transformed Dow from a commodities chemical business to a globally recognized science and technology solutions provider and a leader in alternative energy technologies. The judges applauded his efforts to promote Dow's adoption of natural gas as a key feedstock and its investments in developing lithium-ion batteries for electric cars and solar energy systems for buildings.

SeaMicro, a four-year-old U.S. innovator in computer hardware, snagged "Rising Star Award – Company," which honors a young upcoming company for its accomplishments and potential. Of particular note to judges was SeaMicro's success in doubling sales quarter after quarter and its development of technology that cuts power consumption by up to 75% by computer servers, which as the backbone of the information-age, devour more than 2.5% of the United States' electricity.

The "Rising Star Award – Individual" – new in 2011 – went to Arno Harris, chief executive officer of San Francisco-based Recurrent Energy. With Harris at the helm, Recurrent became a top North America solar producer within six years, and, in 2010, was acquired by Sharp Corporation, a global electronics giant, which now operates it as an independent subsidiary. Judges were impressed by the company's potential to drive utility-scale solar for a greener energy future. 

Brazil's Braskem, a leader in diversified petrochemicals in the Americas, walked away with the "Petrochemical and Blendstock Innovation Award."  This award, also making its debut this year, honors outstanding innovation in refined crude oil products. Braskem's "sustainable chemistry" advancements set it apart from its competition, judges said, as did its 2010 introduction of the world's first "green ethylene" plant, which uses sugar cane to produce a projected 200,000 tons of environment-friendly plastic.

Like Petrobras, Chesapeake Energy walked away with two awards this year. The Oklahoma-based company won "Deal of the Year" for completing two landmark oil and natural gas drilling agreements with state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation. Not only do these deals reshape the contours of international energy exploration, the judges said, but they have wide-ranging energy and economic implications for years to come. Chesapeake also won the coveted "Industry Leadership Award" for its "Energy Independence Initiative" which calls for increased domestic oil and natural gas liquids production and investments in "green energy" fuels through advanced gas-to-liquid processes.

In the selection of "Lifetime Achievement" honors, the Platts Global Energy Awards recognized not one, but three individuals: Sheila Hollis, partner, Duane Morris LLP; Richard (Dick) Kelly, retired CEO of Xcel Energy; and Arthur (Art) Rosenfeld, distinguished scientist emeritus, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Details are available at this link:http://bit.ly/v3c551.

"It's clear the bar of performance is raised each year by the caliber of entries across all awards categories and this year was no exception," said Neal. "We congratulate the winners and finalists of the Platts Global Energy Awards for their ever more noteworthy contributions to innovation and leadership and for being true inspirations."    

Nearly 500 energy executives from around the world walked the red carpet to attend the annual black-tie event, often described as the "Oscars" of energy. Some 21 winners were announced in 19 performance categories which recognize exemplary corporate and individual achievement, innovation and leadership, and low-carbon energy sustainability initiatives. For a second year, the event was emceed by CNBC Television's Amanda Drury.

The Awards ceremony was preceded by the fifth annual Platts Global Energy Outlook Forum, "The World's Quest for Clean Energy," during which industry leaders, economists and government officials engaged in roundtable discussions on the impediments to scalable green energy, the challenges to a green economy, and the energy supply and demand outlook for 2012 and beyond.  Petrobras CEO Jose Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo presented the keynote address.

The 2011 Platts Global Energy Awards sponsors included Capgemini, as principal for a ninth consecutive year, along with returning Elster and SAIC. 

The winners of the 2011 Platts Global Energy Awards by category are:

CEO of the Year
Andrew Liveris, President, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Dow Chemical Company

Commercial Technology of the Year
GlassPoint Solar

Community Development Program of the Year
Gas Natural Fenosa

Construction Project of the Year
Shell International

Deal of the Year
Chesapeake Energy

Downstream Operation of the Year
GAIL (India) Limited

Energy Efficiency Program of the Year – Commercial End User
Staples

Energy Efficiency Program of the Year – Energy Supplier
Ontario Power Authority

Energy Producer of the Year
Petrobras

Engineering Project of the Year
Areva Inc.

Green Energy Generator of the Year
E.ON Climate & Renewables

Industry Leadership Award
Chesapeake Energy

Lifetime Achievement Award
Art Rosenfeld, Distinguished Scientist Emeritus, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Lifetime Achievement Award
Sheila Hollis, Partner, Duane Morris LLP

Lifetime Achievement Award
Richard Kelly, Retired Chief Executive Officer, Xcel Energy

Petrochemical and Blendstock Innovation Award
Braskem

Power Company of the Year
Southern Company

Rising Star Award - Company
SeaMicro

Rising Star Award - Individual
Arno Harris, Chief Executive Officer, Recurrent Energy

Sustainable Technology Innovation of the Year
LanzaTech

Next year's Platts Global Energy Awards and events will be held November 29, 2012, in New York City.

About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals and metals information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets. Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency. Customers in more than 150 countries benefit from Platts' coverage of the carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, and shipping markets.  A division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), Platts is headquartered in New York with approximately 900 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies:  McGraw-Hill is a leading global financial information and education company that helps professionals and students succeed in the Knowledge Economy.  Leading brands include Standard & Poor's, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Indices, Platts energy information services and McGraw-Hill Education.  With sales of $6.2 billion in 2010, the Corporation has approximately 21,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries.  On September 12, 2011, the Corporation announced its intention to separate into two public companies – McGraw-Hill Markets (working name), primarily focused on global capital and commodities markets and McGraw-Hill Education focused on digital learning and education services worldwide.  Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

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