– UK, London – Victoria Oil & Gas Plc (LON: VOG), whose wholly-owned subsidiary is Gaz du Cameroun S.A., the onshore gas producer and distributor with operations located in the port city of Douala, Cameroon, today announced the appointment of Roy Kelly to its Board of Directors as CEO effective from 23 March 2020.
Upon commencement of Roy as the CEO on 23 March 2020, Ahmet Dik will step down as both CEO and a member of the Board of Directors. Ahmet will work with the Company during his 12 month notice period to assist Roy and the team with the transition. After this year’s AGM, expected to be held in June 2020, Roger Kennedy will move from his role as Executive Chairman to a Non-Executive Chairman role.
“Roy is a seasoned oil and gas professional and is well known and respected in the industry and amongst investors in the sector. His experience in asset development, both upstream and downstream, and history and knowledge of African oil and gas projects, particularly in Cameroon, will be invaluable to our Company,” said Roger Kennedy, Chairman.
Roger Kennedy added: “Roy has shown great leadership and resolve in his past positions, building dedicated and professional teams which have successfully executed their technical and strategic goals. He is known for a pragmatic, hands-on and direct approach to creating value. I have known Roy professionally for eighteen years and have full confidence that he will positively manage the Company and set it on a new, long-term course to ensure an increase of shareholder value. I and the rest of the VOG team are extremely excited to have Roy lead the Company forward.
I wish to thank Ahmet for his many years of service to the Company. When Ahmet joined VOG there were a handful of customers that were connected within a few kilometres of our then existing pipeline. Ahmet assisted in building a team to lay 50kms of a pipeline, connecting 37 customers, and securing the Eneo Gas Supply Agreement. Ahmet implemented many changes including cost savings by outsourcing certain operations and negotiating the finalisation of long-standing debts. Over the past 10 months, he has helped to resolve the legacy issues of the Company (including reducing payables, assisting with the CHL Royalty dispute, and dealing with negotiations with RSM) and has assisted in the further development of the Company’s downstream strategy and operations with the signing of the term sheets with both Aksa and New Age/Etinde.
With the appointment of Roy, I do not believe the Company needs both an Executive Chairman and a Chief Executive Officer. I will, therefore, become a Non-Executive Chairman directly after this year’s AGM. I agreed to the executive role because I believed in the VOG business model. Despite the Company’s historical issues, and their impact on the VOG stock price, after months of review, I am confident that the Board has identified all the issues and these are being addressed. A person as experienced and respected as Roy accepting the role as the Company’s CEO is a clear indication to me, as it should be to all shareholders, that there are still believers in the Company’s business model and that there is a positive future for VOG. I personally am dedicated to assisting Roy and the team in any way possible to accrete value and reinvigorate the share price performance of VOG.”
About Roy Kelly
Roy is based in London and has over 35 years of technical, commercial and managerial experience in the international energy industry and was previously Partner, Head of Technical, at Kerogen Capital, a specialist oil, gas and energy private equity fund with over US$2 billion in assets under management across several funds. He will remain on Kerogen’s Technical Committee as an operating partner.
Prior to Kerogen, Roy trained as a petroleum engineer with BP and a number of independent oil companies. He also spent 14 years in consulting and advisory roles to the energy industry, latterly as Managing Director of Consulting at RPS Energy Ltd, which included reserves and resource auditing, and technical and advisory roles throughout West Africa, including Cameroon.
Roy Kelly, CEO said: “I am excited and flattered to be joining Victoria Oil & Gas at this time. The company has a unique position and business model in Cameroon, and I look forward to continuing its growth in this and other markets. The Company is not without its challenges and I look forward to communicating clearly how we plan to tackle these tasks for the benefit of shareholders and indeed all stakeholders.”
Roy is a Chartered Petroleum Engineer, a Fellow of the Energy Institute and a Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He holds a BSc (Honours) from the University of Wales and an MBA from the University of Durham.
For more information: https://www.victoriaoilandgas.com
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