Anthony ABOLARIN is General Manager, NDDC Affairs with ELF Petroleum Nigeria, a subsidiary of the TOTAL Group (TotalFinaElf), where his responsibilities include strategic planning, corporate performance indicator design and control. Prior to his current position, he managed the Amenam/Kpono oil and gas field development project (about 950 million boeq) and the Obite Gas project for Nigeria LNG feed. His principal role was the management of joint venture partners involvement in decision making as well as host communities and government relations. Prior to these, he was the Corporate Safety and Environment Manager of the same organisation. He began his working career as an operations engineer in charge of wells and surface production facilities.

A member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the Nigerian Environmental Society (NES), he is interested in research on environmental damage and the response to significant environmental change. He is also a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN). In this regard, his primary interest is straddle fields unitisation.

A. Abolarin is pursuing a Ph.D. in the petroleum economics program at the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria, where he also received his master's degree in engineering management. His bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering is from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria.