MANILA, Philippines — Billionaire Enrique Razon Jr. is strengthening the leadership of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. (Prime Infra) with the appointment of former BP chief executive Tony Hayward to its board of directors—a move that signals the Philippine conglomerate’s increasingly global ambitions in the energy sector.
Hayward joined the Prime Infra board effective August 10, 2026, while continuing to serve as executive chairman of SierraCol Energy, the Colombian oil and gas company acquired by Razon’s group earlier this year, according to InsiderPH.
Prime Infra Chairman Enrique Razon Jr. welcomed Hayward’s appointment, highlighting the veteran energy executive’s decades of experience in upstream oil and international markets.
Hayward, for his part, said he was pleased to join the board as Prime Infra expands its international presence and continues developing its energy portfolio.
Why Hayward’s appointment matters
The move comes only months after Prime Infra made one of its biggest international bets yet: the acquisition of 100% of SierraCol Energy from global investment firm Carlyle.
Announced in March 2026, the transaction gave Razon’s infrastructure group control of Colombia’s largest independent oil and gas producer and provided Prime Infra with a major upstream energy platform outside the Philippines.
SierraCol has operations centered on major Colombian oil assets, including the Caño Limón and La Cira Infantas fields. Philippine and international reports have placed the company’s production at roughly 10% of Colombia’s total oil output, although reported production figures vary depending on whether gross operated/co-operated production or fiscalized production is being measured.
The acquisition also gave Prime Infra a deeper position across the oil and gas value chain, complementing its existing Philippine energy investments.
From BP to Glencore—and now Prime Infra
Hayward brings an unusually deep international energy résumé to the Razon group.
He served as chief executive of BP from 2007 to 2010, leaving the position after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. He later became chairman of commodities giant Glencore, where he served for years before retiring from that role in 2021.
His experience also extends into international oil operations, making his role particularly relevant as Prime Infra integrates SierraCol and considers additional opportunities in global energy markets.
Hayward was already closely connected to SierraCol before Prime Infra’s acquisition. Carlyle said the company was transformed into Colombia’s largest independent oil and gas producer during its ownership, with Hayward serving as executive chairman.
That background could prove particularly valuable to Razon as Prime Infra moves beyond its traditional infrastructure base and into international upstream oil and gas.
Razon’s energy strategy is getting bigger
Prime Infra’s expansion is not limited to Colombia.
The company has established a broad energy portfolio in the Philippines, including its role as operator of the Malampaya gas project, which Prime Infra says supplies gas supporting more than 20% of domestic power supply. It is also developing large pumped-storage hydropower projects aimed at strengthening grid stability and supporting the country’s energy transition.
In 2025, Prime Infra also expanded its exposure to the Philippine gas-fired power sector through a major transaction with First Gen.
BusinessWorld reported in March that Prime Infra had secured P273.5 billion in financing for its 2,000-megawatt pumped-storage hydropower projects in Laguna and Rizal, underscoring the scale of Razon’s infrastructure ambitions.
The SierraCol acquisition adds another layer: direct exposure to producing oil assets in a major Latin American petroleum market.
A strategic move beyond the Philippines
Prime Infra President and CEO Guillaume Lucci previously described the SierraCol acquisition as a way to strengthen the group’s oil and gas expertise while complementing its existing Philippine assets.
The company said the combination could allow Prime Infra to operate across upstream and downstream oil and gas, as well as onshore and offshore markets.
For Razon, bringing Hayward onto the Prime Infra board therefore appears to align closely with the company’s latest international strategy.
Hayward’s continued leadership role at SierraCol also creates a direct link between Prime Infra’s boardroom and its newly acquired Colombian energy platform.
The bigger question now is how far Razon intends to take Prime Infra’s global energy expansion—and whether SierraCol will be the beginning of a much larger international oil and gas strategy.
WWC ONE MEDIA MJE
Leave a Reply