Dubai
Conferences

Argus Bitumen & Roads Asia Conference

Location tbc
October 2025
Pre-register
Call UsEmail Us

Speakers include:

Leticia Parra Rodriguez 300x300

Leticia Parra Rodriguez
General Manager, Sustainable Road Solutions - Total Energies

Leticia Parra-Rodriguez is a renowned industry expert, a patent holder and a Researcher with the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has held senior operational roles with Ferrovial leading pavement design and construction on major infrastructure projects in Europe, US, Canada and South America. Leticia was qualified by TOTAL to lead technical business development and manufacturing operations with Sustainable Road Solutions. Leticia is a member of the Technical Committee for Pavement Design at Sharjah University and works closely with several Engineering and regulatory bodies throughout the region providing technical support and thought leadership.

Dr Pankaj Kumar Jain

Dr Pankaj Kumar Jain
Senior Vice President - Marketing and Technical

Dr Pankaj Kumar Jain has obtained doctorate degree in bitumen from IIT, Roorkee, India and done research work at Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun. He has published 18 papers in international journals on research on bitumen and holds 1 patent. He has 25 + years of experience in manufacturing and research and development of bitumen derivatives such as Polymer modified bitumen, Crumb rubber modified bitumen, bitumen emulsions, cold mixes, micro surfacing emulsions, Polymer modified emulsions, Pothole repair mix etc.

He is a key member of the BIS (Bureau of India Standard) committee (PCD 6) who writes specifications for Indian roads. He is working as Sr. Vice President - Marketing and Technical in Indianoil Total pvt ltd. (50:50 JV of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and Totalenergies, France).

Mark Ford

Mark Ford
General Manager - Bitumen, Fulton Hogan New Zealand

Mark Ford- Husband, Father, slow ultra-marathon runner and stroke survivor. Mark has overseen Fulton Hogan Bitumen function from a commercial background for seven years. Progressing his career over the past 19 years through Fulton Hogan, Mark has managed the New Zealand, Financial, Strategy and Business Development functions and is now directly responsible for the New Zealand Bitumen Sector. Mark is responsible for establishing a secure supply of imported Bitumen into Fulton Hogan, New Zealand and overseas the terminal operations. Fulton Hogan is one of New Zealand’s largest distributors and user of bitumen from various terminal ports owned across New Zealand.

Allen Pinto

Capt. Allen Pinto
Director of Shipping Operations & Head of Bulk Bitumen (M.East, India, Africa), Richmond Mercantile Ltd

Allen joined the Richmond Group in 1999 and is director of shipping operations and head of bulk bitumen for the Middle East, India and Africa region. He is not only responsible for the commercial management of bitumen tankers operated by the group and in-chartered tonnage, but also coordinates and supports the group’s bulk bitumen trading and supply operations across southeast Asia, Australia, India and the Middle East. Prior to joining Richmond, Allen worked as a general manager at marine surveying companies such as Keppel Sea Scan and ITS Caleb Brett.

Joseph Gan 300x300

Joseph Gan
Trader, Sunshine Oil

Joseph Gan Hua Yang is currently a petchem trader at Sunshine Oil, a subsidiary of Shandong Chambroad Petrochemicals Co. Ltd. He has a robust experience in the commodities trading sector. Previously, he was with Pacific Wells Pte Ltd since 2016, progressively advancing through various roles. Joseph has a proven track record in trading bitumen, managing vessel operations, and fostering relationships with major industry players. Joseph holds a Bachelor's degree in Maritime Business and Maritime Law from the University of Plymouth and is pursuing a Professional MBA from Nanyang Technological University.

Jose Javier Garcia Pardenilla 300x300

José Javier García Pardenilla
Managing Director, Ditecpesa Asphalt Products, Ferrovial

Graduate in chemistry and MBA, having worked with MIT on asphalt products. Javier is part of Ferrovial, being Managing Director of Ditecpesa Asphalt Products, which is one of the most important bitumen sellers and manufacturers of polymer modified bitumen and bitumen emulsions in Spain, In addition, carried out projects in Portugal, the United Kingdom, Bratislava and are currently manufacturing modified bitumen for the new runway at the Luis Muñoz International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the United States. Focused on Asia Ferrovial is an important part of the IRB Infrastructure Developers company in India, and has presence in Australia. He began his career in Ditecpesa’s technical department in 1997, and subsequently worked in the company’s industrial, financial and commercial departments before taking on his current role. Javier has also helped manage the purchase of asphalt products for Ditecpesa’s parent company Ferrovial for projects throughout the world, focusing on the technological development of pavements and associated environmental concerns. Javier has outstanding knowledge of the construction and operation facilities of asphalt products including bitumen terminals, polymer modified bitumen and emulsion plants. He is also a specialist in climate change, content strategy, industrial health and safety and green solutions.

Doug Carrasco 300x300

Doug Carrasco
General Manager Road Science & Asphalt Production, Downer Group

Doug Carrasco is the General manager Roadscience and Asphalt Production in New Zealand. He has been overseeing the importation of and domestic purchase of bitumen in New Zealand for the past five years. He has been involved in the road industry in New Zealand for more than two decades. Roadscience, a Downer Group business is the largest and longest servicing importer of bitumen in New Zealand and leads the way in the manufacture of modified bituminous products and emulsified products in NZ. Our focus is on reducing our carbon footprint by continually seeking out opportunities to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. We currently operate the only terminal in New Zealand that can be considered carbon neutral. Our focus on sustainability has also seen us embark on the development and successful trial of a plant-based binder in New Zealand and Australia.

Taisir Mustafa

Taisir Mustafa
CEO, Middle East Modified Bitumen Company (MEMBCO)

Mr. Taisir Mustafa is the CEO of Middle East Modified Bitumen Company, where he has played a pivotal role in driving the company’s growth and innovation in the bitumen industry. With years of experience, Mr. Mustafa has successfully overseen the expansion of the company’s operations, bringing innovation, sustainability, and quality to the forefront. Under his leadership, the company has solidified its position as a trusted partner in road construction, ensuring that both clients and communities benefit from the latest technologies and environmentally friendly practices.

Jonathan Weston

Jonathan Weston
Europe & Asia Bitumen Lead, Argus

Jonathan Weston is the editor of the Argus Bitumen Report, which was launched in January 2015 to cover bitumen markets in Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Mideast Gulf. Jonathan also manages the speciality products team at Argus, which covers bitumen, base oils, bunker fuels and waxes. Jonathan previously covered crude oil markets for Argus and before that worked as a stockbroker and newspaper journalist.

Avatar placeholder

Sathya Narayanan
Senior Reporter, Argus

Sathya has been associated with Argus for over 2 years and currently covers the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia bitumen market. Prior to this role, he was the Indian and Indian subcontinent crude and oil products market reporter for Argus. Before joining Argus, Sathya worked as a global commodities and energy correspondent for Reuters News.

irina

Irina Vinogradova
Senior Manager - Consulting, Argus

Irina is a Senior Manager Consulting in the London office of Argus. She is responsible for the bespoke consulting work in the crude and refined products segment, including specialty products, with a focus on Europe and Africa. Irina has over 9 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry. Prior to Argus, Irina was heading the European gas events portfolio of Fleming Group. Irina has an MSc in Energy, Trade & Finance from Cass Business School and wrote her master’s thesis together with Gazprom Marketing & Trading on small-scale LNG.

Sarah Raffoul new 300

Sarah Raffoul
Manager - Consulting

Sarah Raffoul specializes, within the Argus consultancy team, on oil refined products with a focus on the Mideast region. She additionally covers other regions, and provides tailor-made research on markets. Her team is responsible for global fundamentals data and analytical tools, strategy reports and forward-looking price outlooks for the industry. Sarah has received a master’s degree from the University of Aberdeen and other certifications specializing in energy.

Keyvan Hedvat

Keyvan Hedvat
Europe/Africa Editor, Bitumen, Argus

Keyvan joined Argus in June 2007 as part of the company’s European oil products team, reporting on naphtha, jet fuel and distillate markets before switching to coverage of the fuel oil market and subsequently vacuum gasoil. He has been reporting on European and African bitumen and asphalt markets since 2009, editing the Europe/Africa section of the weekly Argus Asphalt Report, and subsequently Argus Bitumen, and helping to enhance the publication. Before joining Argus, Keyvan spent 10 years as a Senior Energy Correspondent with Reuters news agency in London before it was merged to form Thomson Reuters. At Reuters, Keyvan reported on physical and swaps markets for the full spectrum of oil products and led a team of products reporters. He previously reported on the petrochemicals and oil products markets at the London office of Dow Jones.

Chloe Choo 300x300

Chloe Choo
Senior Reporter, Bitumen and Oil Products, Argus

Chloe joined the bitumen team at Argus in March 2024 after a five-year stint as a reporter at local news channel CNA. From covering the birth of Singapore's first baby panda to covid lockdowns and breaking news stories both locally and abroad, she has now decided to focus on the bitumen markets in India, Middle East, Malaysia and Australia.

Claire Ng 300x300

Claire Ng
Reporter, Argus

Claire has been on the Asia Bitumen desk for about a year and a half since graduating from university. She covers markets in Asia, including Indonesia, China, South Korea and Thailand.