Argus Rio Crude Conference

Cristiano Pinto da Costa

President, Shell Brasil

Cristiano Pinto da Costa has been with Shell for 29 years, holding senior leadership positions across operations, strategy, new business development, commercial, and mergers and acquisitions in Downstream, Trading, LNG, and Upstream.

After 18 years in international roles in London, The Hague, and Houston, Cristiano returned to Brazil in 2018 to oversee Shell’s participation in Pre-Salt assets. He was appointed Senior Vice President for Upstream in August 2021. In August 2022, he became President of Shell Brazil. In April 2025, Cristiano was appointed Executive Vice President of Shell Group for Upstream — a global executive role he holds concurrently with the Presidency of Shell Brazil. In 2025, he also served as a member of Raízen’s Board of Directors.

Cristiano holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management in the United Kingdom

Renato Dutra

National Secretary of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels, Ministry of Mines and Energy, Brazil

Victor Bomfim

CEO, Vast Infraestrutura

Mechanical engineer from the Mauá School of Engineering in São Paulo, with a background in Physical Oceanography from the University of São Paulo (USP) and an MBA in Management from COPPEAD-UFRJ, Victor has extensive experience in the subsea engineering sector. During his more than 30 years at Subsea7, he has been responsible for numerous projects, with a focus on deepwater technologies. In the last 17 years, he served as the company’s leader for South America, reporting directly to Subsea7’s executive team and board in Europe. Since 2017, he has been as CEO of Vast Infraestrutura, a Prumo Group company dedicated to providing infrastructure and logistics solutions for liquid transportation to the energy market. Victor also serves as a board member for Porto do Açu, DOME, and Oceânica S/A, as well as a member of the Advisory Board at COPPEAD-UFRJ.

Luiz Carvalho

CFO, Brava Energia

Luiz Carvalho is currently Brava Energia CFO / IRO. Luiz was ranked #1 analyst by Institutional Investor survey in Brazil Oil & Gas for 10 consecutive years and holds a degree in Industrial Engineer from Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, with specialization courses at Harvard and Wharton. Prior to Brava Energia, Luiz spent 15 year in Finance where he worked at UBS, HSBC and BTG Pactual. Luiz also has industry experience at Shell and Transocean and worked offshore in Brazil for 2 years.

Adolfo Storni

CEO, Capex

Roberto Ardenghy

President and CEO, IBP

Currently CEO of the Brazilian Petroleum Institute (IBP), the main industry association in Brazil, Roberto Ardenghy is a former Brazilian diplomat with 30+ years of experience in government relations, infrastructure, energy, sustainability and oil & gas, both in private and public sectors.
He worked as a diplomat at different Brazilian Embassies and Consulates abroad (Washington DC, Buenos Aires, Houston and New York). He also held senior positions in Brazil’s federal government in Brasilia at the Cabinet of the President (Planalto Palace) and at the Ministries of Justice, Commerce and Development. From 2002 to 2007, he worked at the National Petroleum Agency ANP (oil regulator), with different responsibilities, including Chief of Staff, President of the Ethics Commission and Supply and Biofuels Superintendent. From 2007 to 2111 he took the position of Chief Corporate Affairs at BG Group in Brazil, an international oil company based in Rio de Janeiro.

Gustavo Chaab

CEO, VMOS

Gustavo Chaab is the CEO of Vaca Muerta Oil Sur (VMOS), Argentina’s flagship crude oil export system. With more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, he is a recognized expert in downstream and midstream operations, as well as large-scale infrastructure development.
He spent the majority of his career at YPF, where he held senior leadership roles in refining and industrialization, as well as in corporate HSE.
Gustavo holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from the National University of Cuyo, an MBA from École des Ponts Business School, and has completed postgraduate studies at MIT and IDEE.

Alipio Ferreira

Vice President- Crude Oil Trading Brasil, PetroChina Brazil

Alipio Ferreira is a Petroleum engineer with a master’s degree in Administration, from Coppead-UFRJ. He currently serves as the Crude Vice President at PetroChina Brazil International Trading. With extensive experience in the oil industry, Alipio has held key positions both in Brazil and internationally. Notably, he has contributed to exploration and production, crude and products trading, distribution, and petrochemicals. His career spans roles such as Petrobras America Downstream VP, Petrobras Singapore Managing Director, BR Distribuidora Director, and Petrobras Head of Global Crude and Products Trading.

Rodrigo Almeida

Head of Oil & Gas Research, BTG Pactual

Rodrigo Almeida is the Head of the Oil & Gas Equity Research team at BTG Pactual, where he covers companies such as Petrobras, PRIO, Brava, Vibra, Ultrapar, and Braskem. Rodrigo has been covering the Oil & Gas space in Latin America for the past 8 years, with a particular focus on equities.

Samir Awad

Director of Administration, Finance & Commercialization, PPSA

Holder of an Undergraduate Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Military Institute of Engineering (IME) in 1982, with a Master´s degree in Subsea Engineering (Cranfield University and Insead Business School), in England, and Postgraduate Certificates from Stanford (USA) and Insead Business School, in France, Samir Awad began his professional career at Petrobras, where he worked for over 30 years. Among the various activities carried out at the company, the engineer served as CEO of Petrobras Nigeria Ltd. (1999-2006); executive manager for the Americas, Africa and Asia, managing E&P and downstream projects in 17 countries (2007-2009); and CEO of Petrobras Netherlands BV. (2009-2016).

Victoria Sabbioni

Commercial VicePresident, CGC

Victoria Sabbioni is an energy industry expert with more than 22 years of experience.

She joined Compañía General de Combustibles (CGC) in 2018, where she has held several management roles in commercial areas related to crude oil, midstream, natural gas, and power. She currently serves as Commercial Vice President, overseeing CGC’s global business and serves several board positions within other companies of the group.

Prior to CGC, she built her career at TOTALENERGIES and ENGIE, gaining broad experience across the energy sector. She holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from ITBA and has completed executive programs at the World Energy Council and IAE Business School. She also holds a diploma in Hydrocarbons Law from Universidad Austral and specializes in Oil and Natural Gas Economics from ITBA.

She is a member of Women Corporate Directors (WCD) and the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).

Mauricio Martin

VPE Midstream & Downstream, YPF SA

Mauricio Martin holds the position of Midstream & Downstream Vice Executive President since December 2023.

Previously, Mauricio served as Digital Technologies and Transversal Solutions Vice President
from August 2022 to December 2023 and as Downstream Vice President from May 2020 to August 2022.

He joined the company in 1997 and has developed his career in different Downstream areas and positions, such as Process Engineer, Responsible for Production, Responsible for Environment, Safety and Health, Industrial Complex Manager, Planning and Technical Development Manager.

He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. He also completed specialization programs and holds an MBA from the CEMA.

Gustavo Hooper

Head of Trading & Shipping, PRIO

Gustavo Hooper is head of trading and shipping for Prio, the largest independent oil and gas production company in Brazil. He has more than 15 years’ experience in the sector, with international roles in multinational companies such as Shell, Raizen, Sinochem and PetroChina. Gustavo has a master’s degree from PUC-Rio and a BSc degree in economics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and Salamanca University in Spain. He is also a graduate of the Coppead Business School in Rio de Janeiro.

Danielle Gomes de Almeida Valois

Partner, Trench Rossi Watanabe

Danielle Valois joined the Firm in 1999, became a partner in 2011. She leads the Trench, Rossi e Watanabe´s Energy practice in Brazil, having extensive experience in advising domestic and foreign clients on legal, regulatory and commercial matters involving the energy sector, including domestic and multijurisdictional M&As, infrastructure development projects, public and private bidding processes, and administrative, judicial and arbitration litigation. Danielle also works in the elaboration and review of corporate governance and compliance policies for companies in the energy sector, and actively assists clients and sectorial organizations in the advocacy and policy making of the Brazilian energy industry legislation and regulation.

Ivan de Araujo Franco Damasio

Crude Trading Manager, Petrobras

Romina Poli

Crude Trader, YPF

Francisco Villamil

Executive Trading Manager, Vista

Executive professional with more than 25 years in the energy business, with vast experience in Oil&Gas and Power Generation. Francisco is the Executive Trading Manager of Vista and Vice Chairman of the board of directors of VMOS. During his professional career He had worked in different roles such us sales & marketing on downstream at YPF, Trading and Origination of Crude Oil and Natural Gas at OXY, then managing commercial areas at a local Service company as Industrias JF Secco, to become General Manager of the temporary power solutions company, Aggreko Argentina. He also performed the start up of the local branch for the Brazilian firm Tecnogera as Country Manager and worked in Paraguay as New Business Director for Montealegre. Industrial Engineer, with postgraduate studies in Oil & Gas Economics and MBA studies complete his profile.

Rob McLeod

Global Head of Energy Risk Solutions, Hartree Partners

Rob McLeod leads Hartree’s Global Risk Solutions group, sharing advice and insight to customers across all industry sectors on energy price risk – from crude and refined products to natural gas, emissions, freight and beyond – and providing hedging tools to help manage that risk. With 20 years’ experience, Rob has built a leading franchise in risk management across the energy sphere – structuring solutions to exactly fit clients’ needs, whether as standalone derivatives or embedded into physical supply & offtake. Prior to joining Hartree, Rob worked in energy at UBS. He holds a BSC in Economics from the University of Bristol.

Alfonso Curet

Commercial Director Oil & Gas, Grupo Cobra

Alfonso Curet, 43 años y con de 20 años de experiencia en el mercado de Oil & Gas. Ha ocupado posiciones de trading de petróleo crudo, productos refinados y petroquímicos. También ha ocupado posiciones gerenciales en la comercialización de gas natural en Argentina, con foco en el desarrollo del mercado exportador desde dicho país. Actualmente ocupa el rol de Director Comercial de Oil & Gas para Grupo Cobra, con sede en Madrid, responsable del desarrollo de negocios y comercialización de petróleo y gas en los 4 países en los que la compañía está presente.

Bruno Donato

Associate Director, Macquarie

Bruno Carvalho Donato is an Associate Director at Macquarie Group, based in São Paulo, where he focuses on energy markets, structured products and commercial strategy. He has more than a decade of experience spanning commodities trading, derivatives, risk management and client advisory.
Before joining Macquarie, Bruno served as Head of Sugar and Energy at ED&F Man Capital Markets and held commercial and trading roles at bp and Louis Dreyfus, covering sugar, ethanol and broader energy products. Earlier in his career, he worked in derivatives, treasury and credit functions at JPMorgan and BM&FBOVESPA, building a strong foundation in market structure and financial risk.
Bruno holds a postgraduate degree in Finance and a Derivatives certificate from MIT.

Arturo Vial

Market Intelligence Analyst, Ultranav

I’m an Industrial Civil Engineer with a Diploma in Environmental Engineering. Born and raised in Santiago, Chile, I joined Ultranav as a Business Analyst for CPP/DPP Business Units (Panamax, MR2’s & Aframax) Sept-2020 to an almost empty office during COVID lockdowns. In Jan-2023, I joined the Miami offices to work as a Market Intelligence Analyst, working alongside the Chartering department with a mixture of Market Intel & Risk Management duties.

Matt Smith

Director of Commodity Research, KPLER

Matt started his career at Royal Bank of Canada in London, England, working his way up to portfolio manager in the investment management team. He then moved to the US and spent 8 years as a Global Commodity Analyst at Schneider Electric / Summit Energy, before becoming Director of Commodity Research at ClipperData for 6 years, leading a team of analysts across a variety of energy commodities.
Matt joined Kpler in September 2021, and as Head Analyst, US, he is focused on producing research and providing counsel to key clients on the energy market.

Victor Pessoa

Ship to Ship Operations Manager, Porto Sudeste

Victor Pessoa is the Ship to Ship Operations Manager at Porto Sudeste, one of Brazil’s leading private ports for crude oil and bulk logistics. With more than 15 years of experience in maritime, offshore, and port operations, Victor has built a solid career focused on tanker logistics, ship‑to‑ship (STS) transfers, and operational risk management for the oil and gas sector.

At Porto Sudeste, he leads complex STS operations involving Aframax, Suezmax, and VLCC vessels, and has been directly involved in expanding the terminal’s capability to handle large crude carrier pairings under strict safety, draft, and scheduling constraints. His work has contributed to improving operational reliability and positioning the port as a competitive export hub for Brazilian crude.

Before joining Porto Sudeste, Victor held senior operational roles at TechnipFMC and UP Offshore Brazil, including service as a DP‑qualified deck officer. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Espírito Santo and a postgraduate qualification in Naval Engineering.

David Fyfe

Chief Economist, Argus

David Fyfe is Chief Economist at Argus. He has more than 30 years’ experience of working in energy markets. Prior to joining Argus, David was most recently Chief Economist at commodity trading company Gunvor. Before this, he managed the oil industry and markets division of the International Energy Agency and edited its influential monthly Oil Market Report. David has a master’s degree in energy policy and economics from Imperial College London.

Vanessa Viola

Executive Vice President, Latin America, Argus

Vanessa Viola is the Executive Vice-President of Latin America at Argus. She rejoined Argus in 2011 as our Brazil Country Manager and is now working to expand the company’s business across Latin America. Vanessa initially joined Argus in 2001, working as Deputy Editor of the Argus European Products report and Editor of the Argus International LPG report before leaving in 2005 to work as an LPG broker with Gibson in London. Prior to her assignments in the UK, Vanessa worked as a political and financial correspondent for Reuters (Brasilia, Sao Paulo), as a financial reporter for Brazil’s leading news agency Agencia Estado and as a press relations officer with energy engineering company Asea Brown Boveri, also based in Sao Paulo. A graduate from Brazil’s Casper Libero University with a BA in social communications, Vanessa has a master’s degree in international journalism from London’s City University. In addition to Portuguese and English, she is fluent in Spanish.

Gus Vasquez

Americas Editorial Manager, Crude and LPG, Argus

Gus Vasquez has been the Argus Americas Crude Editor since the beginning of 2008. Prior to that he was a member of Argus’ European crude team, based out of London, where he covered the North Sea, Mediterra¬nean, Russian and west African crude markets. Before joining Argus in 2006, he spent four years as a market analyst for Venezuela’s national oil company working out of their London office.

Camila Dias

Head of Editorial, Latin America & Managing Director, Argus

Julio Faldin

SVP, Business Development Latin America, Argus

Julio Faldin is Senior Vice President of Business Development for Latin America at Argus Media, with more than 28 years of experience in the oil industry. He holds a degree in Electronic Engineering and an MBA from Universidad Austral. He has built his career primarily in trading and supply roles at Esso, ExxonMobil, Axion Energy, and Pan American Energy across several Latin American countries. He has developed strong expertise in international market intelligent, price and risk management, commercial matters, as well as an extensive network of relationships with key market players.

Conrado Mazzoni

Business Development Manager, Argus

Nazareno Ferrero

Senior Business Development Manager Southern Cone, Argus Media

Nazareno Ferrero is senior business development manager at Argus for the Southern Cone. He leads business development and strategic relationships across energy markets and other commodities in the region. A chemical engineer with an MBA, he brings extensive experience in the international refining sector, as well as in crude oil and refined products trading.

Joao Scheller

Senior Reporter - Oil Products, Argus