Falklands : New Oil Men for the South Atlantic
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 09.01.2006 (Article Archived on 23.01.2006)
The BBC's Dee Palmer quizzes Richard Liddell about new staff changes at FOGL.
NEW OIL MEN FOR SOUTH ATLANTIC
A Report for BBC World Service “Calling the Falklands” by Dee Palmer (DP) 06/01/06)
There are some new faces at Falklands Oil and Gas Ltd. – the Company which has an exploration programme to the South and East of the Falklands. John Armstrong, who has been chairing the Company and running it on a day to day basis has stepped down from these roles. In his place, the Board has appointed a full time Chief Executive and a part time Chairman, Richard Liddell (RL). I asked Richard why these changes have been made.
RL: well, John has been involved with the project for three years since its inception, during which time, significant progress has been achieved. The business, of course, has grown and activity levels have significantly increased. John and the Board therefore recognised that the Company’s leadership should be based in the UK from this point forward.
DP: Because, of course, John is based in Australia, isn’t he?
RL: John is based in Australia. He’s an Australian and he’s done a remarkable job maintaining excellent communications and leading the Board from that location.
DP: Is he, however, going to remain connected with Falklands Oil and Gas?
RL: Yes. I am very pleased to say that John will remain on the Board and provide us with continuity of activities and also access to his knowledge and experience. And, of Course, John will remain closely involved in our relationship with the Falkland Islands Government.
DP: And, as part of these management changes, I gather you have also appointed a Chief Executive of the Company.
RL: Yes we have. We have appointed Tim Bushell, who will join us from Palidin Resources. He will be coming onboard on the 16th of January.
DP: What will his role be?
RL: He will be our full time Chief Executive and he will be leading the management team involved in all of our day to day business.
DP: Now, I gather Tim actually has experience of oil prospecting in the South Atlantic.
RL: Yes. This is another benefit of having Tim onboard. Before joining Palidin Resources, he was with Lasmo for 10 years and one of his roles with Lasmo was General Manager of their South Atlantic Business Unit, when he was responsible for all of Lasmo’s exploration activities in the North Falklands Basin.
DP: So now, of course, in his new role he will be overseeing the on-going seismic work to the south and east of the Falklands in your concessions there.
RL: Exactly. He will have hands-on responsibility for all of that and, of course, he’s very familiar with the Falkland Islands. And, he knows many of the Islands’ Councillors and Government Representatives. So, he will be a significant asset to the team.
DP: So, will ha be visiting the Islands in the near future? Indeed, will you be visiting the Islands in the near Future?
RL: Yes. We are planning to go next month. John Armstrong will be going with us and Tim and I will be going along there to meet and refresh contacts with key people in the Falkland Islands.
DP: How have the management changes been greeted in the City by the banks and all the people that matter there?
RL: So far the market reaction has been favourable. We have seen an increase in share price. Of course, there are other factors that could be influencing that but the share price has gone up and we have also seen international buyers of the stock in addition to our existing strong United Kingdom support.
(100X Monitoring and Transcription Service)
|
