Our People

Professor Toula Onoufriou is the President of the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company. She is also a Professor of Infrastructure Reliability and Management in the Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics at the Cyprus University of Technology, the founder & Head of EMERGE Energy CoE and an Academic Visitor at Imperial College (UK). She combines experience from academia and the offshore oil and gas industry internationally where she held several positions of high responsibility (Vice-Rector, President, Head of Department, Director of Research, Head of Research Centre and Senior Consultant) and she recorded significant professional activity, contribution and recognition at national and international level.

She served as a member of national councils and expert committees advising the President and the Government of Cyprus on a national strategy for energy, oil and gas, research, innovation and entrepreneurship. She was instrumental in bringing together effectively academia, industry and government departments through the development of international and regional collaboration networks, joint industry programmes and other major research programmes. She leads several research programmes funded from national sources, the EU and industry. She is the Chairman of the Eastern Mediterranean Energy Congress Conference & Exhibition – EMC Series, initiated in Nicosia, Cyprus, in 2020 under the auspices of H.E. The President of the Republic of Cyprus.

She obtained her PhD in Offshore Structures with a scholarship from Imperial College (UK) and she is top graduate of Civil Engineering at City University (UK) where she was awarded the Renie Prize. International distinctions and recognition include the EGYPS 2020 “Women in Energy Leadership Award” for the Mediterranean and North Africa region in recognition of her contribution to the Energy industry, academia, public sector and her efforts on enhancing regional collaboration on Energy-related matters; the Stanley Gray Award by the Institute of Marine Engineers UK for the best publication in marine technology; and the award of the prestigious SmartEN Marie Curie ITN Programme on “Smart Management for Sustainable Human Environment”. Also invited Expert Speaker at many high-level international fora including United States Congress, European Commission and international conferences on oil and gas developments and smart proactive management of infrastructure systems.

She has been serving as President of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company since March 2014.

Obtained BSc and MSc, degrees in Civil and Structural Engineering, University of Manchester, UK and PhD in Offshore Engineering also from the University of Manchester. He has worked with Shell for over 30 years, retiring in 2013 after serving as Engineering Manager for Offshore Structures and Metocean for Europe Middle East & Africa. Highlights of contributions to Offshore Oil & Gas industry include:

• Development of Equations for Stress Concentration Factors in Tubular Joints, widely used in the design of offshore structures worldwide and recommended in international Standards, notably ISO 19902, API RP 2A, NORSOK.
• Ultimate strength and reliability-based design of offshore platforms. This work resulted in Best Paper Award at OMAE’96 and has formed the basis for the ultimate strength provisions and action factors in ISO Standard on Steel Offshore Platforms, ISO 19902.
• In 2002 Efthymiou was named as Offshore Pioneer by the Offshore Energy Centre, Houston, the USA for his pioneering contributions to the offshore industry – safety and reliability.
• Lead Structural Engineer for topsides design of the Sakhalin Offshore Platforms 2003-2005. The project was the first major arctic project and one of the biggest projects ever, currently producing 400,000 boe. In 2005 received Best Paper Award at OTC, Houston, for a paper on the design of the Sakhalin Offshore Facilities.
• Pioneering contributions to the development of first Floating LNG installation in Shell, holding several Patents on aspects of the technology and the role of Technical Authority during FEED and Detailed Design for the turret, moorings, production risers and topsides structural design.

Mike has published many technical papers and patents in the areas of fixed offshore platforms and floating systems. After retiring from Shell in 2013 Mike was appointed Professor of Offshore Structures at University of Western Australia.

He has been serving as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company since March 2014.

Stathis holds a BSc (Honours) and a PhD in Mechanical engineering from Sheffield university, UK.

Following a two-year post-doctoral programme at Sheffield University, he joined Shell where he worked for 30 years with major Shell companies worldwide in the Exploration and Production (EP) for oil and gas.  He has a diverse EP experience including Research, Well engineering, Field Development planning, Petroleum engineering and Human Resources. His last position in Shell was Chief Production Technologist and Technical Authority (TA1) for well integrity for all Shell operated assets outside the USA.  Stathis is the founder of the annual European Conference on Gas Well Deliquification and the European Well interventions Excellence Network. In 2008, he was nominated by Shell E&P Europe and shortlisted for the 2008 Energy Institute Outstanding Individual Achievement Award for his work on Gas well Deliquification. Stathis retired in 2016.

He has been serving as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company since September 2024.

Dr Yiota Lambrou is a Senior Hydrocarbons Officer at the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry. From 2006 to 2008 she worked at the Cyprus Institute of Energy as an Energy Officer in the Oil Sector. Dr Lambrou joined the Energy Service of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry in 2008 at the Oil and Gas Sector and has been the Coordinator of Energy and Hydrocarbons Affairs at the Minister’s office since 2018.

Dr Lambrou holds a BSc in Chemistry (2001) and a PhD in Heterogeneous Environmental Catalysis (2006), both from the University of Cyprus. She also obtained a Master in Business Administration in Oil, Gas and Energy Management (2018) from the University of Nicosia. She has published numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings in the chemical engineering/catalytic chemistry sector while she has also participated in workshops and training related to the hydrocarbons sector (legal and technical). Being involved in the hydrocarbons programme of Cyprus since the early stages, she continues through her position in the Ministry to have a comprehensive experience of the regulatory, legal and operational framework of the sector.

She has been serving as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company since March 2019.

Konstantinos Moullotos was born on 28 October 1987 in Limassol. He graduated from the Peter and Paul High School and served his military service as a Sergeant at Military Police.

He holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Cyprus with specialization in Accounting and Finance. He is a member of the Association of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC).

He has twelve years of experience in the private sector of accounting and financial services in Cyprus. He started his professional career in one of the major auditing firms of Cyprus, as a certified accountant, specializing in the field of Auditing Services.  He then worked as an Executive Financial Director in a shipping company and later as an Executive Financial Director in an airline company with a presence both in Cyprus and internationally.

He has been serving as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company since September 2024.

Forty years’ varied experience in the oil and gas industry, in Lloyd’s Register (1982-2016) and subsequently as a consultant, in areas of design, construction and installation of submarine and land pipelines, structural design, static and dynamic analysis of fixed and flexible risers, strength, buckling and impact of structural elements.

Managed multidisciplinary engineering teams (of structural engineers, naval architects, pipelines /piping and pressure plant engineers and fire and risks specialists) engaged in design verification of all types of fixed and floating offshore structures, mooring systems, pipelines and risers, umbilicals, concrete structures and foundations, jetties, LNG storage  facilities on a worldwide basis.

Familiar with the requirements of all the major international / national regulations, codes of practice and standards relating to steel and flexible pipelines and risers. Provided verification and consultancy services relating to the integrity of numerous offshore and land pipelines worldwide, and fitness for purpose assessment and rehabilitation studies of existing pipelines.

Contributed to and supported the development of Lloyd’s Register’s Energy business worldwide with respect to technical, research and business matters. Served as Global Technical Authority and Engineering Manager on pipelines and risers.

Participated in JIPs on pipelines and served as a member of the British Standards Committee on pipelines. Represents the Cyprus Organisation for Standardisation (CYS), on the European Committee for Standardisation, CEN/TC 12.

Obtained BSc and PhD, degrees in Civil Engineering, University College London and an MSc and DIC,  Imperial College London. Written a number of papers on the behaviour of steel and flexible flowlines, tubular members and ring stiffened cylinders.

He has been serving as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company since September 2024.

George P. Kyprianides is a lawyer and holds the title of Barrister-at-Law of the Inner Temple of London. He is a graduate of the University of Reading, UK with an LLB (Hons) law degree and an LLM with Distinction in International Commercial Law.  He also holds an LLM in Legal Practice from the University of Law in London and has successfully completed Module 1 in International Arbitration via the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.  He holds a certificate in the field of Commercial Awareness from BPP Law School in London and took part in negotiation seminars from the well-known firm Norton Rose. He is a graduate of the American Academy in Larnaca and has completed his two year military service.

Mr. Kyprianides has established his own law firm where he mainly deals with commercial, employment, corporate, banking, tort litigation and privacy law. He is also an independent Criminal Investigator at the Independent Authority for the Investigation of Allegations and Complaints Against the Police.

Mr. Kyprianides is a member of the Cyprus Bar Association (CBA), the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the Committee of Unveiling Cyprus as a Centre for Dispute Resolution of the CBA.  He was the Vice-President of the Bioethics Committee of the Biomedical Research on Human Beings and their Biological Substances and the Clinical Trials on Medicinal Products of Human Use ( ‘Β’), and the Cyprus Consumer Center for ADR as an Arbitrator.

Mr. Kyprianides has authored two legal books in the field of European Competition Law & EC Merger Regulation and one legal book regarding the Defence of Duress in Criminal Law.  He has also contributed a chapter to the legal book EU Merger Control: A Legal & Economic Analysis, Oxford University Press, 2014 (Ch. 9).  He has published papers in the field of Competition Law and EU Merger Regulation for Sweet and Maxwell.

He has been serving as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company since September 2024.

Appointed in Q2 2023, he brings over 37 years of experience in the upstream energy industry, having worked across 10 countries spanning North and South America, the Far East, and the EU/UK/Norway. Beginning his career with Schlumberger, he later joined Shell, where he has primarily focused on offshore deepwater operations. Over the course of his service, he has gained extensive international experience and deep insight into the complexities of delivering large-scale deepwater Mega Projects.

His leadership experience covers a broad range of domains, including extensive drilling field operations and engineering, commercial management, major capital project assurance, technical authority, HSSE, R&D, regulatory compliance. He is particularly recognized for his ability to apply operational pragmatism and clarity in complex, high-risk environments—bringing structure and alignment to strategy and policy development. He has served on multiple Venture and Project Leadership teams overseeing challenging deepwater projects throughout their full lifecycles. His portfolio includes initiating new country ventures, greenfield developments from wildcat exploration, brownfield abandonment, and the management of major CAPEX projects—among them, five deepwater global flagship developments for Shell that were successfully brought into production. These efforts required close collaboration with government and joint venture stakeholders, balancing HSSE, regulatory, and legal imperatives with the realities of capital allocation and resource constraints. His commitment to co-creating win-win solutions has been key to achieving success on projects characterized by high complexity, elevated risk profiles, and stringent cost and safety expectations.

Academically, he holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics from Imperial College London (UK, 1989), complemented by additional qualifications from the University of London (UK, 1993), and the MIT Sloan School of Management (USA, 2019). He is a published author and conference presenter, and holds professional designations of CEng and C.Mar.Eng from the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST).

He has a deep-seated passion for delivery performance and an innate ability to empathise with individuals across cultures and organizational levels. Known for his courage to challenge the status quo, he promotes constructive change and continuous improvement. He finds intrinsic satisfaction in aiding others and actively participates in developing and mentoring energy professionals across all cultures and ages.

Demetris Fessas is a Chartered Engineer accredited by the UK Engineering Council and is a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineers, Scientists and Technologists. He has been involved in the oil and gas industry for over 25 years, starting with design engineering on both topsides and subsea applications, progressing to subsea construction and operations management. He has worked both for major service companies and major operators, such as Subsea7 and bp, and with these has worked initially in the North Sea, and extensively on West African deep-water projects. Since 2015 Demetris Fessas has been employed by the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company in managerial roles and is currently CHC’s Technical Director

Daniel Freed has been involved in the energy industry for thirty years, mainly in upstream and midstream oil & gas. He started as an economist / analyst and then moved into upstream and midstream commercial and business development projects. Daniel spent most of his professional career with TotalEnergies and has also worked for or with the full range of partners found in the energy industry from single asset companies, utility companies right up to the super-majors and NOCs.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Geography & Management Studies, a Master of Science in Mineral Economics & Energy Management, an Executive MBA and has lived, studied or worked in 10 countries. He is often seen wearing a hat which is from Australia.

Daniel joined CHC in Q2 2025.