Wellesley appoints new Norway head

Norwegian oil and gas explorer Wellesley Petroleum has appointed the company’s new Norway country manager.

Wellesley Petroleum said on Friday that it chose Kari Langvik Østhus to lead the company in Norway as “the operator enters a new phase of activity.”

Langvik Østhus is a co-founder of Wellesley and has previously worked as an exploration geophysicist with Revus Energy, Wintershall, and Cairn Energy. More recently, she has taken responsibility for managing Wellesley’s new venture projects.

Chris Elliott, CEO of the Wellesley Group, said: “Kari has demonstrated very strong managerial talent in her most recent role. That, coupled with her deep understanding of exploration, makes her the ideal candidate to lead our Norwegian business forward.”

The company added that, with Wellesley’s strategy and future growth plans in mind, the current Norway Country Manager Callum Smyth would take the post of Operations and HSE manager.

“The changes in the management team reflect the new phase that the company is entering. It allows us to orientate towards a more operator-focused model, assuming responsibility for drilling of exploration targets matured in our license portfolio,” Elliott said.

To remind, Wellesley has recently completed its first operated well, the 33/9-22S located in Northern North Sea, two and a half years after the company was established. The well was dry.