There are few finer locations for an itinerant executive to settle than Portugal's capital Lisbon, but the pleasures of sun, a full-bodied wine and a jog by the Tagus river are just fringe benefits for Galp Energia E&P director Thore Kristiansen.

The former Statoil senior vice president was lured to Galp in 2014, when the Portuguese company was starting to develop the upstream side of its business.