Shareholders of Petroceltic have voted against the removal of its chief executive Brian O’Cathain at an extraordinary general meeting.
Other candidates put forward by its largest shareholder Worldview Capital Management were rejected.
The company had called for a meeting to remove the boss after Worldview blamed him for what they called the “failure of the company”.
It previously said the leadership of Petroceltic had under-performed and was overpaid.
Worldview proposed that Mauric Dijols, the former president of the Russian operations of Schlumberger, be elected to the board as an independent non-executive director, alongside Angelo Moskov.
Shareholders voted against Dijols joining the board with 50.92% while 61.30% voted against Moskov’s appointment.
The appointment of directors Nicholas Gray and Neeve Billis, who were proposed by Petroceltic, were approved.
Chairman of Petroceltic Roger Adair said: “I would like to thank shareholders for the remarkably high number of votes cast in respect of the resolutions today.
“Petroceltic is committed to working with all shareholders in an open and constructive manner and in the best interests of the company and its long term value.”
Following the announcement, Worldview said it did not support the appointments of Neeve Billis or Nicholas Gray or the “continued board presence” of Brian O’Cathain.
A spokesman said: “Worldview notes the outcome of the Petroceltic shareholder vote on 25th February 2015.
“Given the request by Worldview to inspect the proxy votes received ahead of the meeting was refused by the Company, the high retail investor turnout and the narrow margin of several resolutions, Worldview now demands to inspect all of the proxies and poll votes.
“In addition, Worldview also demands that the Chairman confirms whether and how he or the registrars exercised any discretion to accept or reject any votes cast.
“If this request is refused, Worldview believes that shareholders should have serious concerns about the openness of the process.
“Worldview does not support the appointments of Neeve Billis and Nicholas Gay or the continued Board presence of Brian O’Cathain, who we maintain has been the primary architect of the Company’s failed strategy.”