Singaporean Liang Ting Wee named Total Oil Asia Pacific chief, country chair

FRENCH energy giant Total has promoted Singaporean Liang Ting Wee to president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Total Oil Asia Pacific for its marketing and services division, overseeing the Asia-Pacific and Middle East.

The marketing and services division of Total develops and markets products primarily derived from crude oil, along with all associated services. Its solutions include lubricants, liquefied petroleum gas, bitumen and special fluids.

The division has close to 6,800 employees in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East, and serves customers through its retail network of around 2,400 service stations.

Based in Singapore, Mr Liang has also been appointed the country chair to represent all of the oil and gas major's business interests in the city-state. Total has a 600-strong local workforce in Singapore.

The group has been active in the Republic for 38 years, retailing petrochemicals, marketing liquefied natural gas, petroleum products, as well as trading oil, petroleum products, natural gas and power.

In December 2019, Total opened its regional headquarters at Frasers Tower along Cecil Street, spanning about 125,000 square feet. The group said then that the Singapore office will serve as a base to manage its liquefied natural gas business in the Asia-Pacific and its renewable energy business in Asia.

Both of Mr Liang's appointments took effect from Oct 1 this year. He replaces Christian Cabrol, who has assumed the role of CEO of Total Deutschland in Germany.

Mr Liang has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the energy sector.

Since joining Total in 2012, he has taken on senior management responsibilities in strategy development in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East, as well as profit-and-loss responsibilities covering markets in China, the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific.

Before working at Total, Mr Liang began his career as a refinery engineer in Singapore, and later joined the country's Economic Development Board.