UK oil & gas player promotes from within to fill CEO role

UK-headquartered and AIM-listed oil and gas player Europa Oil & Gas picked a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) after its current one decided to resign.  

Europa Oil & Gas revealed on Wednesday, 15 March 2023, that Simon Oddie, the firm’s Chief Executive Officer since August 2020 and Executive Director since November 2019, has decided to retire from the role. However, Oddie will remain on the board as a Non-Executive Director.

Brian O’Cathain, Chairman of Europa, commented: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Simon for his service to the company as Chief Executive Officer. Simon was appointed to the board initially as Non-Executive Chairman in January 2018 before becoming Interim Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman in November 2019 and then Chief Executive Officer in August 2020. I am pleased that Simon will remain as a Non-Executive Director to ensure a smooth handover and enable business continuity going forward.”

Due to Oddie’s decision to step down from the CEO role, William Holland is moving from the role of Chief Financial Officer to Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect, according to the UK firm. With over 30 years of experience predominantly in corporate, financial and M&A roles, Holland started his career as an engineer with a particular focus on North Sea operations with Halliburton.

Simon Oddie, Europa Oil & Gas’ outgoing CEO, remarked: “I believe this is the right time to pass the baton to Will following a very busy period of real change for Europa. As CEO I have overseen a re-balancing of Europa’s portfolio, notably with first oil and ongoing production at the Wressle field, the addition of a third leg to our business by securing a late-stage appraisal project at Serenity and further progress on the exploration position in the proven gas play of the Slyne Basin offshore Ireland.” 

Furthermore, O’Cathain explains that Holland, who has been on the firm’s board and in the CFO role since April 2022, already made “a significant contribution” to the firm, as he has the skills required to “continue to grow and expand the business as we look to create further value for our shareholders.”

Holland, who spent time as an upstream banker at Macquarie Group Limited, has previously acted as CFO to a number of publicly listed E&Ps, including Echo Energy and Tethys Oil AB. He holds a B.Eng (Mech) from Warwick University and an MBA from Edinburgh Business School (Heriot-Watt University).

Will Holland, Europa Oil & Gas’ incoming CEO, stated: “I am delighted to be taking on the role of CEO at this exciting time and look forward to realising the further potential of our assets, whilst both accelerating the growth and maintaining the balance within the business.”

Regarding Europa Oil & Gas’ recent activities, it is worth noting that the company decided to relinquish a license located offshore Morocco, as its farm-out process did not yield results due to low interest in deepwater oil exploration.

The UK firm is also working on finding a farm-in partner for its FEL 4/19 license offshore Ireland, which holds the 1.5 tcf Inishkea prospect adjacent to existing infrastructure at the producing Corrib gas field.