Aidan Joseph Heavey (born 14 March 1953) is the founder of

Tullow Oil Tullow Oil plc is a multinational oil and gas exploration company founded in Tullow, Ireland, with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Aidan Hea ...

, one of Europe's largest oil businesses.

Early life

From

Castlerea Castlerea ( ; ) is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located in the west of the county and had a population of 2,348 at the 2022 census. Roughly translated from Irish, Castlerea is generally thought to mean 'brindled castle' (''Caisl ...

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

and educated at

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

and at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

, Heavey trained with ''R. J. Kidney & Co.'' from 1974 to 1978 when he qualified as an

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

.Aidan Heavey out of Africa: Ireland's Oil Baron has come a long way from County Kildare
Independent, 8 August 2004

Career

He left ''R. J. Kidney & Co.'' in 1979 to join

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...

as a Financial Controller before joining ''Tullow Engineering'' in 1981: it was there that he founded Tullow Oil in 1985 building it through a series of acquisitions into a major international oil business. Heavey's salary at Tullow Oil is £679,450 as of 2010 and his 2009 bonus was £859,274. Heavey was under pressure to step down as CEO in January 2013 when the firm missed production targets at a project in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

.Inside the City: Tullow’s Heavey burden , The Sunday Times
/ref> This was because of 'operational hiccups'. This sent the share price down and after the broker

Investec Investec is an Anglo- South African international banking and wealth management group, founded in Johannesburg, South Africa. It provides a range of financial products and services to a client base in Europe, Southern Africa, and Asia-Pacific. ...

rated the firm a 'sell'. Heavey also received criticism for managing too many projects at once. Heavey also ran into troubles in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

because the government demanded that the firm build a larger refinery than the one pre-agreed. Heavey was also criticised in May 2013 after he was seen sporting a €53,000

Patek Philippe Patek Philippe SA () is a Swiss luxury watchmaker and clock manufacturer, located in the Canton of Geneva and the Vallée de Joux. Established in 1839, it is named after two of its founders, Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe. Since 1932, the comp ...

watch during a turbulent time for

. In July 2013, Heavey was dragged in to a political row over whether a donation he made to the Conservatives before the general election in 2010 was connected to

William Hague William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...

's intervention in

's Ugandan tax dispute. Heavey donated £10,000 to the party and this was believed to have been in return for Hague's cooperation in the dispute, during which he reportedly telephoned the Ugandan President

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...

to ask for

to be let off a £200 million capital gains tax bill. In April 2014, Heavey attracted criticism in the media and from investors at Tullow Oil after it emerged that his pay had risen from £2.6 million to £2.8 million in 2013, despite Tullow's share price decreasing by as much as 30 percent.Tullow faces pay backlash
Sunday Times, April 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heavey, Aidan 1953 births 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Irish chief executives Living people Alumni of University College Dublin People educated at Clongowes Wood College People from Virginia Water People from Castlerea