With over 14 years Global experience in the oil and gas industry with Horizon Energy Ltd, GE Energy/oil and gas (US & Ghana), PPS (Ghana & UK), and Lukoil International (Russia, Dubai, USA & Cote d’Ivoire), he is currently the Commercial Manager in charge of Economic Modeling and Risk Management at Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC). He is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Ghana Communication Technology University College (GCTU) (a Coventry University Campus in Africa), and a Visiting Lecturer at University of Cape Coast (UCC) and Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). He is a Section Director of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) - Ghana Section, even as he continues to serve as an Advisory Committee Member of SPE Africa. 

He is an experienced Oil and Gas Business Analyst with solid technical and commercial knowledge in oil and gas field development planning and portfolio management. He is heavily involved in the day-to-day interpretation of value creation potential for oil and gas businesses. His strengths include being diligent, innovative and technology driven. 

Riverson holds Ph.D. in International Oil and Gas Management - Finance and Economics from Gubkin Russian University of Oil and Gas; Diploma in Earth GeoScience from Stanford University, USA; Masters (with honors) in Petroleum Engineering from Gubkin Russian University of Oil and Gas, with Masters Exchange Program in Arctic Development from Norwegian University of Nordland; a Bachelors degree in Materials (Industrial) Science and Engineering from K.N.U.S.T., Ghana; Diploma in Project Management from Institute of Commercial Management, UK. 

Prior to joining Ghana National Gas Company in 2020, Dr. Oppong had worked on several oil and gas fields, including North Busachi Fields in Kazakhstan, Independence Field in Cote d’ivoir, Djata Fields in Ghana, and West Quarna2 Gas Fields in Irag. He also consulted for the Croatian Government on the Croatian LNG Project as a Project Economist.  

Returning to Ghana, he has been playing an active role on Ghana’s Energy Sector Recovery Program; a program that gave birth to the Cash Waterfall Mechanism, Natural Gas Clearhouse, and P4R. He has worked tirelessly to ensure that the objectives of these programs are holistically achieved. Dr. Oppong equally sits on Ghana’s National Energy Transition Technical Committee, where he contributes to writing policy documents to address Ghana’s energy transition roadmap. He also currently plays a dynamic role in the review of Ghana’s Gas Master Plan (GMP) and Natural Gas Pricing Policy (NGPP).  

Dr. Oppong also served at as the SPE Ghana Section’s Program and Technical Committee Chair where its committee assisted in the reviewing of Ghana’s Upstream Petroleum Local Content Policy – the LI2204 in 2018 to 2019. At the same period, he was the African Ambassador for Hello Tomorrow, a French base DeepTech eco-system. After recruiting several startups and incubators, he organized the first ever Hello Tomorrow Africa Challenge in Cape Town, South Africa in 2019. The winner of the African Regional Competition under the tutelage of Dr. Oppong participated in the Global Hello Tomorrow Challenge in 2019 in Paris, France and took the first place. (African startup takes home grand prize at 2019 Deeptech Oscars (ghanaweb.com) 

He has lectured in several universities across Europe, Canada, and Australia, and has been a conference panelist on numerous Conferences across the globe in the past seven years. His immense contribution to international conferences cannot be overlooked as he has made presentations under ATCE 2016, UAE; IPTC 2016, Thailand; OTC 2016, Canada; WPC 2017, Turkey; PC.LCC 2018, Ghana; EMW 2018 and 2019, Poland; AOG 2019, South Africa; WPC-YP Summit 2019, Russia; ASEC 2020, Croatia; SAIPEC 2021 & 2022, Nigeria; GES 2022, Canada; NAICE YPW 2022, Nigeria; GH-BICE 2022, Ghana, GhipCon 2022, Ghana, among others, with numerous published papers and articles. He is also an author of three books. As at December, 2022, Dr. Oppong had over 560 citations in articles, thesis, and books.  

It is worth mentioning that Dr. Oppong has won several international awards, medals and recognitions: the most recent being the recognition by “Gurus and Prospects” Magazine – GAP, as one of the “TOP 10 Energy Thought Leaders in Africa and Diaspora”; and GCTU Life Achievement Award. He also took the 2022 Ghana Energy Award – “Rising Star”, 2022 SPE Regional Distinguished Service Award, 2020 SPE Regional Young Member Outstanding Service Award, and 2020 Presidential Millennium Excellence Award, Oil and Gas – Youth Category. Dr. Oppong won the best PHD Research in 2016 in Poland at the East Meets West SPE Conference.