North-east businessman Alasdair Locke is to be non-executive chairman of Hardy Oil and Gas.
The London company, which is focused on India, said today that Paul Mortimer was stepping aside as chairman and would continue as a non-executive director.
Mr Locke is the former executive chairman of Aberdeen-based energy service company Abbot Group.
Yogeshwar Sharma, the current chief executive of Hardy, is also to step aside. Hardy said he would continue in office until a suitable replacement was found.
The firm said it was envisaged that Mr Sharma would remain on the board as a non-executive director.
The Hardy board said: “We are delighted to welcome Alasdair Locke to Hardy’s board as non-executive chairman. His extensive experience of the upstream oil and gas sector and proven track record of leading transformational businesses will be vital as we strive to create value for our shareholders.”
Earlier this week, Mr Locke and two investment businesses bought a filling-station chain in a multimillion-pound deal.
He was joined by Patron Capital and Scottish Capital Group in the acquisition of Motor Fuels Group (MFG).
In current market conditions, it is believed that the value of the deal would be more than £40million.
Mr Locke will become non-executive chairman of MFG, which owns and operates 58 mostly freehold stations nationwide, including eight in Scotland.