Solo Oil Plc (LON:SOLO), the natural resources investment company focused on acquiring and developing a diverse global non-operated portfolio of strategic oil and gas assets, today announced the proposed appointment of Alastair Ferguson as a non-executive director and Chairman-designate of the Company following the proposed retirement of Neil Ritson as Director and Chairman. The appointment is subject to the completion of Director checks by the Company’s Nominated Adviser.
Mr Ferguson is a Chartered Engineer and has over 40 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, the last seven of which have been spent in various Chairman and non-executive director positions. He spent 25 years with BP plc and a further 8 years with the TNK BP joint venture, based in Moscow, where he held a variety of senior business roles. Most recently, he was an Independent Non-Executive Director on the board of JSC KazMunaiGaz Exploration Production, a subsidiary of the Kazach state-owned gas company and has served as Executive Chairman of AIM-traded Zoltav Resources Inc. and as non-executive director of JKX Oil & Gas plc (traded on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market). Mr Ferguson has considerable commercial management experience and has specific expertise in business development and managing projects in complex political environments.
Neil Ritson, Solo Oil Plc Executive Chairman, commented: “I am very pleased to welcome Alastair to the Board of Solo. Alastair’s years of commercial and business experience, developing international gas projects in the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Russia, will strengthen the Board and potentially expand the Company’s geographic reach. I look forward to continuing to assist the Company in a technical capacity after my retirement from the Board.”
Alastair Ferguson commented: “As the Company enters a critical phase in considering the commercialisation of its core assets in the Ruvuma Basin, the Horse Hill discovery and its exciting helium asset, I am delighted to be invited by the Solo Board to become a non-executive director and Chairman-designate. As the strategic focus of the Board turns to how to provide a return to Shareholders through the monetisation of its assets and the eventual reinvestment of at least part of the proceeds, I look forward to bringing my own expertise to the Board to deliver this outcome.”
It is intended that Mr Ferguson will take over as Non-Executive Chairman following the conclusion of the Company’s AGM on 6 August 2018, when Mr Ritson will retire as Executive Chairman and as a director of the Company and assume the role of Technical Advisor. It is additionally anticipated that Don Strang will retire as a director in the coming months, alongside a further appointment of an Independent Non-Executive Director.
Mr Ferguson currently holds 5,714,286 ordinary shares in the capital of Solo Oil plc equating to approximately 1.21% of the Company’s current issued share capital.
