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Edlásio de Vasconcelos is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of PetroNauka, where he sets the company's strategic vision, builds institutional partnerships and steers day-to-day operations. A reservoir engineer and geologist, Edlásio works at Sonangol P&P — Angola's national oil company — specialising in reservoir modelling and simulation using industry tools such as Petrel. He trained at the Saint Petersburg Mining University in Russia, one of the world's oldest technical institutions, and has combined industry practice with teaching, having lectured at Angola's Instituto Nacional de Petróleos (INP), where he helped prepare the next generation of national petroleum professionals. It was this front-line view of Angola's technical knowledge gap — abundant expertise, but few local channels to capture and share it — that inspired him to co-found PetroNauka. He leads the venture with the conviction that locally owned technical knowledge is the foundation of a stronger, more self-reliant Angolan energy sector.

Nelson Sabalo Reis Canhanga is co-founder, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Financial Officer of PetroNauka. An Angolan petroleum and production engineer, he brings nearly a decade of international field experience to the company's technology and financial strategy. Nelson spent roughly nine years with Schlumberger in Ecuador, where he specialised in production optimisation, artificial-lift and electrical submersible pump (ESP) design, and well surveillance and stimulation, delivering significant gains in field output. He holds a degree from the University of Tulsa in the United States and today serves as a Production Advisor at Azule Energy, Angola's largest independent oil and gas producer. At PetroNauka he leads the platform's technical architecture, product roadmap and budget. Committed to continuous growth, Nelson is currently pursuing a master's degree in Data Science and a John C. Maxwell Leadership and Coaching Certification, and is also an advocate for financial literacy.