About
Experience Built Across the Energy System
Mohd Effandi
I am an energy practitioner, advisor, facilitator and writer with 28 years of experience across operations, gas markets, commercial strategy, business development and technology commercialisation.
My career was built at PETRONAS, where I worked across different parts of the energy system, from the control room and gas processing operations to commercial negotiations, corporate strategy and the commercialisation of technology.
That journey taught me an important lesson:
Complex energy challenges cannot be understood in isolation.
Operations, infrastructure, markets, contracts, policy, institutions and people must work as one connected system.
Today, through FND Energy Advisory, I help energy leaders and organisations see the system more clearly, align stakeholders and translate strategy into practical action.
My Career Journey
I began my career in 1998 at the PETRONAS Gas Control Centre in Segamat. Eight years in gas transmission operations and planning gave me a ground-up understanding of system reliability, supply-demand coordination and the discipline required to keep critical infrastructure operating safely.
I subsequently moved into production planning at the Kerteh Gas Processing Plant before taking on leadership responsibilities in gas marketing. During this period, I was involved in negotiating and concluding more than 40 Gas Sales Agreements and Framework Agreements supporting power generation, industry and Malaysia's broader economic development.
In 2014, I served with Tanzania's President's Delivery Bureau, supporting the country's Gas Development Plan under the Big Results Now national transformation programme, backed by the World Bank and Malaysia's PEMANDU.
The assignment reinforced my belief that natural resources alone do not create national value. Institutions, infrastructure, policy, markets and capability must develop together.
From 2018, I led the Operations function during the establishment of PETRONAS Energy and Gas Trading. I later moved into corporate strategy at PETRONAS Gas Berhad, serving as Head of Strategic Planning and subsequently Head of Strategy & Business Development.
In my final PETRONAS role, I headed Commercial at PETRONAS Technology Digital Commercialisation, working to translate proprietary technologies and digital solutions into scalable, market-ready offerings.
I completed my 28-year PETRONAS journey on 31 July 2026.
What I Bring
My experience connects areas that are often considered separately:
- Energy systems and gas markets
- Operational and commercial strategy
- Gas supply planning and contract negotiation
- Corporate strategy and scenario planning
- Technology commercialisation and business-model development
- Stakeholder alignment and strategic facilitation
- Leadership and organisational capability development
This allows me to move between operational reality and strategic intent, helping organisations understand not only what they want to achieve, but what the wider system requires to make it work.
FND Energy Advisory
FND Energy Advisory was created around a simple principle:
See the System. Shape the Strategy. Build the Capability.
Complex challenges are rarely solved by addressing one contract, asset, technology or department in isolation.
They require a shared understanding of the wider system, the stakeholders involved, the dependencies between them, the constraints they face and the responsibilities each must carry.
Through advisory, facilitation and capability development, I work with energy leaders and organisations to:
- Make complex issues easier to understand
- Connect operational reality with strategic decisions
- Align stakeholders around shared priorities
- Strengthen commercial and organisational capability
- Move from discussion to decision and disciplined execution
The objective is not to provide generic frameworks or ready-made answers.
It is to help organisations develop the clarity and capability to make better decisions for themselves.
How I Work
I begin by understanding the system.
That means listening to those closest to the work, identifying the connections between technical and commercial decisions, and making risks and dependencies visible.
My role is to bring different perspectives into the same conversation, create shared understanding and help teams identify a practical way forward.
Clarity comes first.
Because without clarity, strategy remains a document. With clarity, it becomes a basis for aligned action.
Writing and Knowledge Sharing
I also write about energy systems, strategy, leadership and the lessons gathered throughout my career.
Writing is another way of making experience useful, clarifying what we have learnt, connecting ideas across different disciplines and passing those lessons forward.
My professional insights are published on this website, LinkedIn and Substack.
Education and Development
I hold a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, Commencement of ’98.
My professional development includes executive programmes by the University of Melbourne, GE Crotonville and Asia School of Business.
The Next Chapter
Experience has not given me all the answers.
It has made me more conscious of complexity, consequences and the importance of listening to those closest to the work.
FND Energy Advisory represents the next chapter of that journey: continuing to learn, sharing what has been useful and helping others build the clarity and capability to move forward.
Because strategic clarity is not achieved by simplifying complexity until it disappears.
It comes from seeing enough of the whole system to make better decisions.