Last week, we were sad to be informed that Professor Robert Mabro CBE, a Fellow by Special Election, passed away on the 2nd of August at the age of 81.

Professor Mabro received his degree in civil engineering from Alexandria University and first came to Oxford in 1969, where he developed an interest in oil and energy. Professor Mabro was most famous for brokering the historic oil deal between OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) producers Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, and their rival producer country Mexico, in the late 1990s.

Robert was the founder of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies which was formed in 1982. He was Director of the Institute until April 2003 and was made Honorary President in 2006. Professor Mabro was also a lay director on the board of ICE Futures, the oil futures exchange in London, the Dean of the Oxford Energy Seminar and the honorary secretary of the Oxford Energy Policy Club.

St Catherine’s College was associated with the Institute from its inception, and in 2006 Robert was made a Fellow by Special Election in formal recognition of all his hard work and this fruitful partnership.