Under the patronage and presence of HE Yousef Omair Bin Yousef, Secretary General of the Supreme Petroleum Council and ADNOC CEO, GASCO held a grand party to celebrate its 2006 achievements in Abu Dhabi. The honouring of the long service employees included special tributes to previous GASCO General Managers, two of whom were Shell staff who had been seconded to GASCO.

Mr. Gerrit Kroon was seconded from Shell to act as the second GASCO General Manager from 1983 to 1986. He said, "It is a privilege, an honour and a delight to be here today. It is overwhelming to see the growth and change to the better of Abu Dhabi and GASCO."

Mr. Andrew Pirrie, also seconded from Shell, was GASCO’s General Manager during the years 1989 to 1993. "It was always a pleasure to plan the development of UAE nationals, and today I see that many of them have justified our confidence in their ability", said Mr. Pirrie during the party.

HE Yousef Omair Bin Yousef and GASCO management team also honoured Dr. Mohamed Defrawi for his service to Abu Dhabi during his years as Shell Abu Dhabi Managing Director.

In March Nejib Zaafrani, Shell Abu Dhabi Managing Director and Sultan Al Jaber, Masdar CEO travelled to Tunisia to discuss cooperation with the Tunisian Government on areas of sustainable development and renewable energy. Areas of interest for cooperation were identified as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Projects, Concentrated Solar Power Generation, and Capacity Building & Human Resources. Shell Tunisia Country Chairman, Mr. Ahmed Bassalah, joined the meetings which were attended by HE Abdelaziz Rassaa, Secretary of State for Renewable Energy and Agri-Business and other Tunisian government officials.