Haji Azhar bin Haji Yahya graduated with a Bachelor of Geology (BSc)(Hons) from the University Of Nottingham in I987. He is an oil industry veteran having long stint in the industry spanning across exploration, production, commercial, and management and later worked in the Brunei Government as regulator and policy maker.
In 2009, he became BSP's Exploration Manager. In 2011, he was appointed as the Permanent Secretary (Upstream) in the Energy Department Of the Prime Minister's Office. At the same time, he was also assigned as CEO for PetroleumBRUNEl. He returned to the industry in 2013 as Exploration and Commercial Director. After 28 years of technical and management career, he retired on March 2016.
On 31 July 2018, he was appointed as Permanent Secretary (Energy). He is currently the Interim Managing Director of Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam and Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Safety, Health and Environment Natioanal Authority (SHENA), whilst championing the Climate Change front as the Chairman of the Executive Committee.
He is married to Hajah Suhartiniwati, blessed with three children and loves exploring the outdoors, hiking in the mountains and travelling.
