Valentin George Cretu demonstrates how built-in planning enabled Mozambique LNG and created 1000’s of world jobs
World liquefied pure fuel (LNG) demand will develop 60% by 2040, in line with Shell’s outlook, pushed by Asian financial growth and AI’s power wants. However behind each new LNG terminal lies a planning resolution that mobilizes billions of {dollars}, drives industrial development throughout continents, and generates tens of 1000’s of expert jobs. The stakes are huge: decisions made in planning rooms as we speak decide not simply company earnings however total areas’ financial trajectories.
The Mozambique LNG venture exemplifies this scale. Price over $20 billion, it represents the nation’s first-ever LNG plant and one of many largest funding choices within the power sector. Its approval in 2019 created 16,000 jobs in america alone via gear and repair contracts. But this venture almost didn’t occur — till one planning supervisor orchestrated alignment amongst governments, banks, contractors, and buyers throughout completely different time zones and regulatory environments.
Valentin George Cretu, Venture Planning Supervisor at TotalEnergies, remodeled what might have been one other stalled megaproject into actuality via an built-in planning methodology. His method — combining systematic threat administration with stakeholder alignment from day one — enabled the essential Ultimate Funding Determination (FID) that unlocked billions in capital. As he places it, planning means ‘orchestrating all components of a venture in order that they work easily and on time.’
His expertise, now documented within the e book ‘Planning Engineering – Rules and Reminiscences’, printed on Amazon, reveals why planning has advanced from a back-office operate to a strategic crucial. In an period the place single initiatives can reshape nationwide economies, Cretu’s work demonstrates that the way forward for power relies upon much less on drilling expertise than on the precision of built-in schedules and threat administration programs.
Who’s a Venture Planning Supervisor and What Do They Do?
Cretu is a mechanical engineer by coaching, but his skilled trajectory has lengthy prolonged past technical specialization. For a few years, he has labored in managing massive industrial initiatives in oil and fuel, power, and infrastructure. His place as Venture Planning Supervisor could appear auxiliary at first look, however in actuality, it types the muse for efficiently executing initiatives value tens of billions of {dollars}.
The planner’s process is to show a large-scale thought right into a structured and possible venture. He develops a “roadmap,” units the sequence of actions, allocates obligations, and establishes sensible timelines. It’s his accountability to make sure that building and commissioning schedules stay on monitor and that the price range is managed.
The planner manages modifications and dangers: when gear supply delays, unexpected pure components, or logistical challenges come up in distant areas, he offers options and restructures the general plan. On the similar time, he coordinates the work of a number of stakeholders — from governments and contractors to banks and buyers — making certain transparency and alignment. Equally necessary is constructing a workforce of planning specialists and passing on accrued information.
This career not often takes the highlight, but it’s due to planners that large worldwide initiatives don’t collapse underneath their complexity. Their work makes attainable what appears unattainable: bringing to life a venture that unites 1000’s of individuals, dozens of nations, and billions in funding.
Orchestrating Complexity
The Mozambique LNG venture was a check for Valentin in scale, complexity, and worldwide collaboration. “For me, being a Planning Supervisor means orchestrating all components of a venture in order that they work easily and on time,” Cretu explains. On this case, orchestration spanned completely different time zones, cultures, and regulatory environments, requiring not solely technical precision but additionally diplomatic flexibility.
His position was to develop and implement a complete plan aligning the strategic targets of all stakeholders — from governments and banks to contractors and buyers. “The important thing resolution was to undertake an built-in venture administration method from the very starting. This ensured that everybody was aligned,” he remembers. Mixed with systematic threat administration, this method turned important in reaching the Ultimate Funding Determination (FID, the formal approval to commit capital to a venture) in 2019.
Efficient planning ensured that venture phases have been executed effectively, creating demand for providers and supplies. This demand translated into job creation, together with greater than 16,000 jobs in america because of American firms supplying gear and providers.
Management Via Planning
Cretu’s expertise demonstrates how planning experience naturally evolves into management. Based on Valentin, “My expertise in venture planning progressively remodeled into management as I took on extra accountability and guided groups towards reaching objectives.” On this course of, he did greater than coordinate venture stakeholders — he fostered information sharing, collaborative problem-solving, and workforce cohesion.
The success of Mozambique LNG was made attainable via a mix of strategic pondering and a scientific method to venture administration. Valentin developed a technique to promptly determine deviations, design restoration plans, and adapt to unexpected circumstances. His “formulation for achievement” in worldwide initiatives consists of understanding the native context, constructing belief with stakeholders, and sustaining flexibility. He believes these expertise are essential for future CEOs: the power to make knowledgeable choices, encourage groups, and obtain outcomes underneath complicated situations.
Human Influence
Valentin additionally served as a jury member for the Instances and Faces 2025 award, a world recognition program that evaluates achievements in venture administration and management throughout numerous industries. On this position, he evaluated new expertise and shared his expertise with a brand new technology of world professionals, emphasizing the significance of sensible expertise, strategic pondering, and steady development.
In the present day, Cretu is increasing his experience to renewable power and sustainability and is making ready to launch his personal consulting firm, persevering with to create jobs and ship profitable initiatives. His position as a jury member for the Instances and Faces award permits him to help and consider rising expertise, passing on information to the following technology. For him, succeeding in international initiatives requires not solely expertise however a mindset oriented towards steady development.
Skilled success, in his view, is measured not solely by technical or monetary outcomes but additionally by social influence. Work ought to ship tangible advantages, creating jobs, bettering infrastructure, and positively influencing society. In Mozambique LNG, this method mixed financial effectivity with social influence, making the venture internationally vital. Valentin’s recommendation to younger professionals is straightforward and common: “Keep curious, be adaptable, and by no means cease studying. World initiatives are complicated and dynamic, so openness to new experiences is your biggest useful resource.”
Planning as a Strategic Crucial
The position of a Venture Planning Supervisor extends far past a “back-office” operate — it has turn out to be a key to the way forward for power and international employment. In as we speak’s world, built-in planning is a strategic instrument influencing the power sector, international funding, and employment. Mozambique LNG demonstrates that exact administration of schedules, dangers, and stakeholder pursuits creates situations for profitable international initiatives, financial growth, and lasting societal influence.
Within the fingers of a talented specialist, planning turns into a map of success — a map defining not solely a venture’s schedule and price range but additionally its affect on the worldwide financial system, jobs, and the way forward for power. Cretu’s method combines technical mastery, strategic pondering, and a focus to social influence. That is what makes the position of a Venture Planning Supervisor central to the map of success in power and international employment — from executing multi-billion-dollar initiatives to creating jobs and shaping sustainable financial flows worldwide.
