Rathlin Energy (UK) Ltd, operator of the West Newton onshore gas field, has appointed Philip Birch as an independent non-executive director to the board, with immediate effect.
Mr Birch has more than 40 years’ experience as an oil and gas executive in the energy sector.
He has held a range of senior leadership positions including founder and exploration director at Black Star Petroleum, chief executive officer of Newton Energy and CEO of engineering company HeliSwirl Group.
Most recently, Mr Birch was exploration and technical Director at Impact Oil and Gas, where he was “instrumental in growing the company’s value from £50 million to £1 billion”.
He also built a high-value exploration portfolio which included the “largest oilfield discovery in Sub-Saharan Africa, with multi-billion barrels of resources”.
Mr. Birch holds an MSc in Petroleum Geoscience from Imperial College London and an MBA from Imperial College Business School .
Rathlin holds a 66.67% interest in PEDL183, which contains West Newton.
Reabold Resources plc, which made the company announcement, holds a 69.67% interest in PEDL183, through a 79.8% shareholding in Rathlin, and a 16.665% direct licence interest in the licence.
Union Jack Oil plc, which is under offer from Reabold, has a 16.665% interest in West Newton.