Lekoil makes two additions to board of directors

Nigerian oil company Lekoil has appointed two new non-executive directors, with immediate effect.

Lekoil said on Monday that it had named Mark Simmonds and Tony Hawkins as new non-executive directors.

Simmonds was the foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister with responsibilities for Africa, the Caribbean, UK Overseas Territories, International Energy, and Conflict Prevention.

He served as a Member of the UK Parliament for fourteen years and was also a senior advisor to the then Prime Minister David Cameron.

As for Hawkins, he is an English and Australian qualified lawyer of twenty years of experience and has worked in both private practice and corporate roles.

He is a senior energy lawyer, asset manager, and commercial negotiator, predominately in oil and gas but also in power, LNG, and renewables. Hawkins is currently the CEO at Columbus Energy Resources as well as owning a consultancy firm.

Previously, he worked for Sterling Energy and Centrica. Before that, he worked for ten years in private practice in Australia and the UK, most recently with Dewey LeBoeuf in London.

Hawkins is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and was previously a member of the legal committee of Oil & Gas UK.

Lekoil also stated that Greg Eckersley, who has served as the company’s interim CFO since May 2019, would not be returning to his previous role on the board as a non-executive director following the completion of his six-month term in that position. The company’s finance function will be overseen by a recently appointed CFO of Nigerian operations.

According to the company, the process of appointing a candidate to assume overall responsibility for the group finance function is ongoing.

Also, non-executive director John van der Welle will also be stepping down from Lekoil’s board with immediate effect. Hezekiah Adesola Oyinlola will assume the role of chair of the Audit Committee following van der Welle’s departure.

Eckersley said: “It has been a pleasure to be part of the Lekoil story from its inception, and as a founding board member since the IPO. In the last seven years, it has acquired world-class assets and has built a highly skilled and technically competent team.

“With the important recent extension of the OPL 310 license, the signing of OPL 276, and OPL 325 agreements, and the successful securing of initial development funding, the next few years will be an exciting growth period for Lekoil and its shareholders.”

Samuel Adegboyega, Chairman of Lekoil, added: “I would like to welcome Mark and Tony to the board and thank both Greg and John for their significant contribution to Lekoil. I know I speak on behalf of the full board when I say that we will miss their contribution to the Board function, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”

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