Morten Kelstrup is the CEO of Spirit Energy, a UK oil company transitioning to a CO2 storage operator.

 

Morten is a strategically and commercially minded executive with an extensive career in international business.  His career is built over almost 25 years with Maersk Oil, where he has held various leadership roles within commercial, strategy and economics as well as he has led businesses in Kazakhstan and United Kingdom. With the sale of Maersk Oil to Total in 2018, Morten joined Maersk Drilling as Chief Commercial Officer and later as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to this, Morten has worked with Danish Oil & Natural Gas (now Ørsted) and Texaco.

 

A common denominator throughout his career is the negotiations of multi-company, international agreements from the North Sea through the Caspian and Middle East to Asia and USA, often involving Governments, public authorities or national energy champions.   

 

Upon the sale of Maersk Oil to TotalEnergies in 2018, Morten helped deliver deal closure and the merger of the UK businesses. Morten was also part of the successful listing of Maersk Drilling in 2019 as well as the merger with Noble Drilling in 2022.

 

Morten is an ambassador of innovation and digitalization having repeatedly led the implementation of new ways of working, partnerships, and new technologies to create and capture value for customers and company. This includes having established an industry leading innovation department, chaired the Board of Horizon56, a digital start-up and as CEO of Sekal, a Norwegian drilling automation company.

 

Moreover, Morten has served as a non-executive member of several Boards including Maersk Training, the International Association of Drilling Contractors, and the UK Oil and Gas Association. Morten is currently on the advisory board of Reformable, a Danish start-up in the catalyst business offering new ways of carbon utilization.

 

Morten Kelstrup received his MBA from the University of Chicago with high honors in 2008 and his M.Sc. in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Aarhus in 1992.

 

In his spare time, Morten is an avid reader and supporter of Manchester United.