New Appointment at Kuwait Energy Co.

Kuwait Energy Company, one of the fastest growing independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the Middle East, today announced that Rabih Soukarieh has joined the company’s Board of Directors as a representative of Millennium Private Equity Energy Fund, replacing Mr. Walter Brandhuber who served from May 2009 and represented the same fund.

Soukarieh is a Senior Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors at Millennium Private Equity Company Ltd, a Dubai-based private equity firm. Mr. Soukarieh joins the Board with over 20 years investment banking and private equity cross-industry experience in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Previously, he was the Head of Corporate Finance at United Gulf Bank where he led the establishment of the Bank’s Investment Banking Division. He was also Chief Executive Officer at United Gulf Financial Services Company, based out of Qatar. Between 2005 and 2007 he held the post of Group Chief Financial Officer of Wataniya International, and co-led the expansion of the Wataniya Telecom Group into Tunisia, Iraq, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, and Palestine, and co-managed their activities in these countries.

Soukarieh serves on several Boards and Committees. Currently, he is the Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Board Executive Committee for Algeria’s Wataniya Telecom Algérie (Nedjma), a director as well as a member of the Board Executive Committee of Tunis International Bank, Tunisia, a director of Moobility Telecom International Holding Ltd. (Friendi Group), a mobile virtual network operator active in the MENA region, and a director of Algeria Gulf Bank, Algeria.- AlBawaba