The editorial team at Manara Magazine spoke with Rüya Bayegan about her insights on navigating the global energy market—particularly in the Middle East—amid its fluctuations.
Rüya is the CEO of Bayegan Group that includes BGN – a global energy trader. The group’s operations span petrochemicals, energy, logistics and critical infrastructure.
EDITORIAL TEAM: What are some of the key challenges currently facing global energy markets, particularly from a Middle Eastern perspective?
Rüya Bayegan: Geopolitical tensions, pandemics, and environmental disasters have exposed weaknesses in how we extract and trade conventional energy resources like oil and gas. While oil and gas are shunned resources in certain circles, oil and gas are still essential to powering the global economy and helping launch billions of people into higher standards of living. They are therefore highly valuable geopolitical bargaining tools and are often used to leverage a country’s negotiating position. This is especially true in modern conflicts in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and increasingly in China as it repositions itself globally.
Why is managing commercial and reputational risks particularly critical for energy companies operating in the Middle East?
Industry and country leaders must place significant weight on commercial and reputational risks when dealing in energy resources. Association with environmental disasters, or overexposure to shipping routes affected by pandemic-like global shocks, can seriously impact a country’s energy resources and energy companies’ bottom lines. To manage these risks, both public and private sectors must embed transparent risk management protocols in their operations and pay special attention to which markets and companies they interact with. Deep due diligence and monitoring are key here – precisely our approach at BGN.
What strategies have proven effective for energy companies navigating geopolitical complexities in regions like the Middle East?
My 80-year-old firm has seen the world change many times over. Our story is as much about legacy as it is about adaptability. To this end, a foundation to our modus operandi is to build trust, transparency, and prioritize relationships across all of our operations. This is how we have excelled across two centuries amid political, regulatory, and market rollercoasters. It is also what allows us to propel the global energy transition forward and prioritize clean bridge fuels like natural gas. Our clean energy, reputational, and financial bill of health provide the groundwork to build long-lasting and trusting relationships with upstream and downstream networks, no matter the economic or political climate.
Can you describe how energy companies have successfully managed operations in politically unstable regions, specifically within the Middle East?
For example, with government approval and blessing of the UN, we contributed to Libya’s oil-for-fuel program, ensuring that critical water and electricity infrastructure remained operational so Libyans had continued access to essential supplies. BGN, along with many other firms that participated in the program, undoubtedly prevented the country from sliding even further into chaos. On the other side of the coin, the moment sanctions are placed on oil and gas-producing countries, we cease operations there immediately. This is all part of our “exit first, enter last” policy, which prioritizes compliance, transparency, and relationship building. If an area is too risky, we exit. Likewise, if risk is heavily outweighed by public benefit, we remain.
What shifts have you observed in the approach to managing risk and transparency in Middle Eastern energy markets?
Ultimately, BGN is a private-sector player in the rapidly changing and uncertain global economy. That means we constantly refine our approach to ensure beneficial and sustainable presence in all markets we operate in. Over the last few decades, this has been especially true in the Middle East where energy markets and geopolitics collide head-on. Governments, citizens, and traders have been forced to grapple with seemingly endless market shocks that have tested relationships. Oil embargoes, civil wars, proxy conflicts, sanctions, and even recent price wars between petroleum rivals constantly keep the market on its toes. Consequently—and fortunately—compliance and transparency programs are now paramount for those trading in the region. Political relationships may change, but commercial ones based on trust and transparency always endure.
What general advice would you offer businesses aiming to succeed in the Middle Eastern market?
My advice to anyone doing business in the Middle East—whether an energy trader or otherwise—is simple: invest in your relationships and build trust over time. Do not manufacture your compliance programs overnight. Battle test them, invest in relationships, do things transparently and honestly, and your conduct will act as a clear and unwavering beacon to the market during times of uncertainty or distress. Risk management must always go beyond mere crisis avoidance.
How is the growing role of renewable energy reshaping the energy landscape, particularly in the Middle East?
I am also looking towards technology and what the future holds for our region and for energy trading. Renewables force us to grapple with an interesting dilemma. With the Middle East being so reliant on its energy-richness, how do we welcome the important work of renewables? Despite the importance of renewables and clean energy to our energy mix, hydrocarbons are still by far the most efficient way to grow our standard of living. This is acutely true in developing countries where energy outputs of renewables cannot meet impressively high energy demand growth. This is likely to shift one day—indeed BGN is already pressing ahead with clean transition fuels and is exploring critical minerals used in battery energy storage systems (BESS), wind turbines, and electric cars.
What new compliance challenges emerge with the transition toward renewable energy, especially given the Middle East’s historical reliance on hydrocarbons?
This new paradigm presents a new set of compliance and transparency issues. An advantage of hydrocarbons is the minimal steps in the supply chain needed to reach a final product and market. A barrel of crude can be produced and refined in-country and then sent to market. Meanwhile, critical minerals for renewables must pass through complex mining and processing procedures across multiple geographies before they are even marketable. This opens up a vastly wider surface area for non-compliant and exploitative practices. This is why I am doubling down on my firm’s compliance and transparency efforts over the next decade and hope other traders are doing the same.
Global energy markets—especially our regional market—will continue to face uncertainty in the coming years. As long as we anchor our operations with a battle-tested compliance-first approach, our industry will remain both essential and profitable.
