Richard Paniguian pursued a career with BP from 1970 to 2008. Nearly half of his time was spent in the international environment, specifically in the Arabian Gulf, Iran, Turkey, France, Belgium and the United States.

He served as Vice President, International Oil Trading; Group Finance Director; and latterly as the Group Vice President for Russia, the Caspian, the Middle East and Africa. From 1995 to 2000 he was Chief Executive of BP Shipping, during which time he was also Chairman of the Oil Companies International Marine Forum ( OCIMF ) and President of the UK Chamber of Shipping. He was appointed a Non Executive Director of Tsakos Energy Navigation in 2008. He has a BA in Arabic and Middle East Politics ( Durham University ) and an MBA ( INSEAD ).