The board of directors
Johan Korsmoe
Chairman of the board / Senior Advisor, INPEX Idemitsu Norge
Johan Korsmoe joined INPEX Idemitsu (IIN) in 2003. He has over 30 years’ varied experience in the oil industry.
Prior to joining INPEX Idemitsu, Mr Korsmoe worked 14 years in a number of positions for the Norwegian oil company Saga Petroleum included a year seconded to Statoil. The work included early phase field evaluation, engineering, gas transportation, asset management and strategy.
After joining IIN Mr Korsmoe has been assigned to increasingly senior positions and was appointed Vice President in 2012.
Johan Korsmoe holds a Master of science degree (siv.ing) in mechanical engineering from the University of Trondheim.
Yuki Ikeda
Executive Officer, Vice President Europe & Middle East Projects, INPEX
Yuki Ikeda joined INPEX in 2005. She has around 15 years of experience in the oil and gas development industry and was appointed as Managing Director of INPEX Idemitsu Norge (IIN) in 2022.
Her specialty is finance and sustainability. She worked for finance structuring and environment and social impact assessment in a LNG development project in Indonesia and served as Executive Director for an INPEX global finance and treasury company in Singapore. Before assigned to IIN, she was Vice President in Sustainability in Corporate Strategy and Planning Division in the INPEX headquarters.
Prior to joining INPEX, Ms Ikeda worked for the Industrial Bank of Japan in Tokyo for corporate finance and the World Bank Group in Washington DC for project finance.
Ms Ikeda holds a Master of Science in engineering from Keio University in Japan and a Master of business administration from University of Rochester in USA.
Koji Ochiai
Managing Director, INPEX Idemitsu Norge
Koji Ochiai joined INPEX in 2004 as a senior geologist to oversee E&P projects in Kazakhstan and UK. Since then, he has been working as a team leader managing New Ventures Exploration and assets acquisition opportunities in Norway, UK, Australia, USA, Southeast Asia, West Africa, and the Middle East.
Prior to joining INPEX, Mr Ochiai worked for 9 years with the Japan National Oil Corporation (now called JOGMEC) as an exploration geologist to evaluate exploration projects in Vietnam and Australia as well as a leader of a research project into the methane hydrates in Japan.
During his career, he has also worked at TOTAL E&P UK for 2 years while being seconded to an exploration project in West of Shetland (UK).
Mr Ochiai was appointed as a Deputy Managing Director, as well as Senior Vice President of Technical of INPEX Idemitsu Norge (IIN) from June 2022, after 4 years as the General Manager of Eurasia Middle East Division, and New Ventures & Global Exploration Division at INPEX Headquarters.
Mr. Ochiai holds an M.Sc. degree in Geology and Mineralogy from Hokkaido University, Japan.
Ayako Nonoue
Advisor, INPEX Idemitsu Norge
Ayako Nonoue joined INPEX in 2007 as a reservoir/production engineer and has accumulated 17 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Ms. Nonoue has been involved in various projects, with a particular focus on North America. Her work has encompassed engineering studies related to unconventional reservoir development, the assessment of opportunities for new business entries, and providing engineering and operational management support.
During her career, she was involved in a shale gas project in Canada and was seconded to the operating company, Nexen CNOOC Ltd, for 2.5 years.
Ms. Nonoue holds a Master of Engineering degree from Waseda University, Japan.
Takeshi Umezawa
General Manager, Commercial Coordination Unit, Europe & Middle East Projects Division, INPEX
Takeshi Umezawa joined INPEX in 2003. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the oil & gas industry.
Mr Umezawa has been involved in various projects in North/South America, Africa, Eurasia and Middle East. His work has included commercial, business development, corporate strategy and public/investor relations. He was assigned General Manager of Commercial Coordination Unit, Europe & Middle East Projects Division in 2024.
During his career, he was involved in an LNG project in Canada and was seconded to the operating company, Nexen CNOOC Ltd,.
Ann-Helen Aamodt
Principal Explorationist / Employee Elected, INPEX Idemitsu Norge
Ann-Helen Aamodt has been working in INPEX Idemitsu Norge since 2013, bringing over 25 years of experience from the oil and gas sector.
Her career has been centered around exploration, contributing to several significant oil and gas discoveries and development projects in the North Sea. Prior to joining INPEX Idemitsu, she has experience from Dana Petroleum, AGR, PGS, Aker Geo, Statoil, and Schlumberger, focusing on exploration activities throughout the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Aamodt earned her M.Sc. (Master of Science) in Petroleum Geosciences and Applied Geophysics from the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH), now known as NTNU, in Trondheim.
Øivind Frey
Technical Manager / Employee Elected, INPEX Idemitsu Norge
Øivind Frey joined INPEX Idemitsu Norge (IIN) in 2014 and brings over 25 years of experience as a geophysicist within the oil and gas industry.
Prior to joining Inpex Idemitsu, Frey spent 16 years in various exploration roles at Norsk Hydro and Statoil. Beyond his experience from the Norwegian Continental Shelf, he has worked on international projects in locations including West Africa, the Gulf of Mexico, Southeast Asia, and Brazil. Throughout his career, he has also spent two years stationed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Frey holds a M.Sc. degree in Applied Geophysics from the University of Oslo (UiO).
