Bacho Bin Pilong, 58 hailed from Tawau, and had his early education at SRJK Wallace Bay, Pulau Sebatik Tawau. He was awarded with PETRONAS scholarship to pursue his study and obtained his Degree in Chemical Engineering, from the University of Texas, Austin, USA in 1987. He had also attended Senior Management Development Program at INSEAD in Singapore and Advance Management Program at Wharton, University of Pennsylvania, USA in 2008 and 2013 respectively.

He is currently the Senior Vice President of Project Delivery & Technology, the position he holds since August 2021. He started his career with PETRONAS in April 1992 as a Process Engineer at Sabah Operations and was among the group of pioneers to operate the Samarang field. Effective 1 August 2021, he assumes the role of Senior Vice President, PD&T and a member of Executive Leadership Team (ELT).

Over the years, Haji Bacho has diligently served the Group through numerous international assignments in Vietnam, the Republic of Sudan and South Sudan and has held various senior leadership positions, including Vice President, Malaysia Assets, Vice President, International Assets and Senior General Manager, Production and Operations Management at Malaysia Petroleum Management. He was also appointed President of two (2) joint operating companies in the Republic of Sudan and South Sudan.

Among Haji Bacho’s more notable achievements include leading the Cost Reduction Alliance (CORAL) 2.0, an industry-led collaboration which has now been recognized by the World Economic Forum for possible replications in other regions. During his tenure as Vice President, International Assets, he led the international assets portfolio high-grading with divestments in Algeria, Cameroon, Vietnam and Mauritania. Haji Bacho successfully secured a production sharing contract extension for the Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC) in the Republic of South Sudan and restored production after five (5) years of shutdown during a challenging crisis period.

International Assets’ footprint has also grown under his watch with the entry into new countries such as the Sultanate of Oman, the Federative Republic of Brazil and Australia. Additionally, he headed the migration of White Nile Petroleum Operating Company (WNPOC) from Khartoum to Juba where PETRONAS became the 1st foreign oil company to set up a base in the Republic of South Sudan. During his short stint in Corporate Strategic Planning, he contributed to the creation of Vestigo Petroleum Sdn Bhd, a company that specializes in marginal and mature asset development and production.