Parkmead Group, the specialist oil and gas investment and advisory company based in Aberdeen, said yesterday it was looking to build on its existing platform and develop oil and gas exploration and production assets.
New executive chairman Tom Cross, formerly chief executive of Aberdeen-based Dana Petroleum, which is being bought by South Korea’s national oil company KNOC for £1.67billion, said: “We look to grow from the current investment and advisory business with a portfolio of exploration and production assets.
“With this strategy in mind, Parkmead has now become a member of BRINDEX, which for over three decades has helped to develop a strong group of independent UK oil and gas companies.”
Mr Cross was elected chairman of BRINDEX, the Association of British Independent Oil Exploration Companies, in 2005 and continues in that role.
Parkmead said that, as planned, Colin Goodall had retired as non-executive chairman and Mr Cross had taken up the post of executive chairman with effect from yesterday.
Mr Cross was previously a non-executive director of Parkmead and at August 31 this year, with his wife, Linda, owned 28.12% of the company.
The company’s AIM-listed shares, which have been as low as 0.675p this year, had increased in value to 9.375p following news in October that Mr Cross was to become its executive chairman.
Yesterday the shares added another 9.33% to close at 10.25p.
Parkmead said that, over the last year, its capabilities had been significantly enhanced through the acquisition and integration of Aberdeen University spin-out company Aupec in a shares and cash deal worth more than £4million.
It said that as a result, the enlarged group planned to actively pursue investment and advisory opportunities throughout the North Sea, Africa and the Middle East using the combined capabilities of Aupec and Parkmead. Through wholly-owned subsidiary Aupec, the group provides petroleum economics, benchmarking and valuation expertise to a wide range of government bodies and international oil and gas companies.
Parkmead, since the acquisition of Aupec in November last year, has moved its operational base from London to Aupec’s offices in Aberdeen with expected cost savings of £250,000 a year.
As reported earlier, Mr Cross will collect more than £34million from the sale to KNOC of his shares in Dana, which he founded in 1994 with a small group of investors and less than £300,000 of seed capital. He was named Grampian Industrialist of the Year in 2007.
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