M. Erdal Çelikdemir, co-founder of the TBS petrol, has a proven 35-year track record in the energy industry with extensive experience in the upstream oil and gas sector. Mr. Çelikdemir started his professional career in 1976 with Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) as a field geologist. Later, he was assigned to TPAO Headquarters as Petroleum Geologist, where he worked on various exploration blocks in Southeast Anatolia. In the following years, his engineering career further expanded to cover various roles in the Exploration Group such as; Project Geologist, Project Supervisor, and Exploration Coordinator for domestic projects.

After joining the International Projects (IP) department in 1993, Erdal Çelikdemir managed and completed several international E&P and field development projects in collaboration with global oil companies including Amoco, Arco and Union Oil. In 1996, he was exemplified for his major contributions and achievements in the IP department, and was promoted to the rank of Vice Manager of IP. As the Vice Manager of the group, he had been one of the key figures towards TPAO's successful E&P activities in the Caspian Region.

Retiring from TPAO in 2006, Erdal Çelikdemir joined Çalık Energy as Exploration Coordinator where he successfully completed numerous oil and gas projects in Turkmenistan, Turkey, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan. From May 2007 to October 2008, he served as Vice President of Seana Energy in charge of E&P project development in Middle East and Caspian Regions. Currently, he acts as the Exploration and G&G Project Manager in TBS Petrol, where he is responsible for geological evaluation of Turkmenistan’s Western and Amu-Darya Basins.

Erdal Çelikdemir holds a B.Sc. degree in Geology and a minor in Geophysics from the University of Istanbul. With his vast experience and sound technical knowledge, he is likely to be one of the best experts on Southeast Turkey’s and Caspian Region’s petroleum geology.