New non-executive director to join Soco

Soco International, a London-listed oil and gas exploration and production company, has appointed a new non-executive director.

Soco said on Tuesday that John Martin would take his position as an independent non-executive director following the conclusion of the company’s annual general meeting on June 7.

Martin will serve as a member of the Nominations Committee and the Remuneration Committee, and as the chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, replacing the current chair, Rob Gray, in that role.

He has more than 30 years of experience in international banking in the oil and gas industry and, until recently, was a senior managing director in the oil and gas team at Standard Chartered Bank.

Before joining Standard Chartered in 2007, Martin worked for ABN Amro for 26 years, specializing in the oil and gas sector. He also served as a senior vice president of the World Petroleum Council, and as an independent non-executive director of Rockhopper Exploration.

He was previously the chairman of Falkland Oil and Gas, an independent non-executive director on the board of Bowleven, and an independent non-executive director and chair of the audit committee of Total E&P UK.

Soco also announced that Olivier Barbaroux, a non-executive director, would retire from the company at the conclusion of Soco’s forthcoming AGM. Accordingly, the proposed re-appointment of Barbaroux will be withdrawn from consideration at the meeting.

Rui de Sousa, non-executive chairman, said: “Olivier has been a director of Soco during its formative years and I thank him for his long and distinguished service to the company and wish him every happiness in his retirement. I am delighted to welcome John Martin to the board. John brings a wealth of experience and expertise that will be valuable in Soco’s next phase of growth.”