Vineet Chattree was appointed as director of Kline Dubai and the firm's Middle East consulting practice.

The Middle East has emerged as a production and logistics center for petroleum and petrochemicals, with companies capitalizing on the region's inherent strategic advantages namely feedstock, location, and low capital cost.

"Throughout our 50 years of assisting companies in the energy and petrochemicals arena, our strategy has been to establish offices in the key regions where our clients are located or aspire to be operating," said Kline Chairman and CEO Joe Tarantola. "Dubai is a natural choice for us because of its favorable business climate, excellent infrastructure and proximity to the entire region." Chattree added,

"The energy and petrochemical players emerging in the Middle East are targeting both organic and in-organic growth globally. In order to stimulate private investment, generate employment opportunities, and develop intellectual capital, their business focus is leaning away from the commodity products and towards the downstream value-added products. Kline has assisted several key players in making this strategic business shift."

Chattree comes to Kline from Tata Strategic Management Group, where he led the Middle East business development initiative. He worked previously with Avalon Consulting and National Organic Chemicals Industries, Ltd., in Mumbai, India.

"I am delighted to have Vineet heading our Middle East operation," stated Tarantola. "His field experience in the petrochemical industry and extensive expertise consulting to organizations in India and the Middle East will help us to provide a full spectrum of consulting services for our clients in this region, including strategy formulation, deployment and competitive enhancement."