Philippines: Nido Petroleum Appoints New COO

Nido Petroleum Limited announces the appointment of Mr. Philip A. Byrne to the position of Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Byrne will take up his new role upon fulfillment of his notice obligations to his current employer, which will be between the middle of November and the end of December 2011.

Mr. Byrne has over 25 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. In his most recent role, Mr. Byrne was President, North West Shelf Australia LNG (ALNG) – the organisation responsible for marketing more than 16 million tonnes of LNG per annum on behalf of the six North West Shelf Project Participants. Immediately prior to joining ALNG, Mr. Byrne was the Australian Country Head of BHP Billiton Petroleum and Head of Production.

Mr. Byrne has an MA in Natural Sciences (Geology) from Trinity College in Dublin, and a Masters Degree in Petroleum Geology from the Imperial College in London. He started his career with Hamilton Brothers Oil and Gas as an Exploration Geologist and subsequently joined the BG Group, where he held a number of senior exploration, business development, commercial, and leadership roles in Bulgaria, the UK, Tunisia, and India.

Following BG, Mr. Byrne joined BHP Billiton Petroleum and was appointed General Manager of the company’s operations in Pakistan. In this role, he had full management accountability for all aspects of gas and condensate production from the Zamzama field, which produces more than 15% of Pakistan’s total energy needs.

Upon reassignment to Australia, Mr. Byrne became BHP Billiton Petroleum’s Vice President of Gas Marketing for Australia/Asia and subsequently became Australian Country Head and Head of Production. In this latter role, Mr. Byrne was responsible for all aspects of the company’s production and operational activities, which included a significant restructure of BHPB’s operated assets and a major initiative to improve HSE performance, and he represented BHP Billiton at the highest levels of Federal and State Government.

Commenting on the appointment of Mr. Byrne, Mr. Jocot de Dios, Nido’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “It is with great pleasure that we welcome Mr. Byrne to Nido. His in-depth experience in all aspects of the petroleum business – from exploration to production to commercial and marketing – combined with his senior executive and leadership skills and his network of industry and government contacts, will be invaluable as we seek to unlock our exploration potential in the Philippines.”

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Source: Nido Petroleum, October 12, 2011;