i3 Energy chooses new CEO as co-founder steps down

Oil and gas company i3 Energy has appointed a new chief executive officer (CEO) with immediate effect.

i3 Energy said on Monday that Majid Shafiq was named as the new CEO.

Neill Carson, who co-founded i3 will step down from the CEO role and remain with the company as a non-executive director.

Under his leadership, i3 has grown into an AIM-listed company with 11 MMBO of 2P Reserves and 69 MMBO of combined 2C contingent and mid-case prospective resources, the company said.

“Neill’s background and experience will continue to be invaluable to the board as the company converts the Liberator development into a production asset and continues to diversify and grow its portfolio of oil and gas licenses,” the company said.

As for the new CEO, Shafiq has been a non-executive director of i3 since July 2017 and has a combined 30 years of technical and investment banking experience.

He started his career at the Mobil Oil Corporation, where he worked for 13 years in various petroleum engineering and commercial roles in the UK and the Netherlands. He has since worked for advisory and investment banking firms focused exclusively on the oil and gas E&P sector, including Waterous and Co, Tristone Capital, FirstEnergy Capital, and Àrgentil Capital Partners.

Also, John Woods, who served with the company as the chief development officer since May 2016, will be appointed to the role of chief operating officer with immediate effect.

David Knox, the chairman of the company, said: “Having worked for some time alongside his fellow directors and the i3 team, the board is unanimous that Majid has the right skills and experience to take the company forward.

“As a co-founder of i3, Neill has completed the first phase of our growth, capturing the Liberator asset and progressing it towards development and further upside appraisal. I would like to say thank you to Neill, on behalf of the Board, shareholders, and staff for his enormous dedication and contribution to i3 since 2014.”

The former CEO, Neill Carson added: “Founding i3 and seeding it with Liberator, a company making asset, has brought me great satisfaction. I look forward to overseeing i3’s next stage of development as a non-executive director and have every confidence in handing it over to a team with the capability to fund, develop and build on its future success.”

Regarding his appointment, Shafiq said: “I am delighted to take on this role, to build on the foundation that Neill and the team have created, and to progress our Liberator and Liberator West development and appraisal programmes. Along with i3’s team, I hope to keep up the great momentum we’ve achieved in 2018 while delivering on the commercial, regulatory, and funding requirements to see Liberator become a success.

“I’d also like to congratulate John Woods on his appointment as COO. I am excited and looking forward to working alongside John and the rest of the i3 team.”

In an announcement from last month, i3 Energy said that it was ready to enter into a farm-out agreement with a potential JV partner for the Liberator field development.