The OGA announces appointment of three new board members

Industry regulator the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has announced the appointments of three new members to its board.

Sara Vaughan and Malcolm Brown will join as non-executive directors on October 1, succeeding Mary Hardy and Frances Morris-Jones, who will both step down on September 30.

Meanwhile, Helena Charlton has been appointed by the Secretary of State as shareholder director – she took over from Emily Bourne on August 11.

Sara Vaughan

© Supplied by The OGA

Currently a non-executive director of Elexon Limited, which runs the UK electricity industry settlement system, Ms Vaughan brings 30 years’ experience in the regulated energy sector and a background as a competition lawyer.

She was at E.ON until January 2021, where she was executive director for strategy and regulation and, latterly, for political and regulatory affairs.

Ms Vaughan also sits on the Energy Advisory Panel at the Energy Institute, where she is a fellow, and is co-chairwoman of an Advisory Panel in Icebreaker One’s work on Open Energy.

Until 2019, she was an alternate board member of the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy, which later merged into Energy UK.

Malcolm Brown

© Supplied by The OGA

A former senior executive at BG Group, Mr Brown is currently a Crown Representative at the Cabinet Office in the Strategic Partnering Programme.

He brings 40 years’ experience in oil and gas markets, culminating in his role as executive vice president, exploration, at BG, a position he left in 2016.

He was an advisor to Westwood Energy until August 2021 and is a trustee of the Imperial College Trust, and chairman of the Development Committee of the Geological Society.

He was President of the Geological Society of London from 2016-2018.

Helena Charlton

© Supplied by The OGA

Ms Charlton is currently deputy director for oil and gas exploration and production at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

She has 10 years experience developing and delivering energy policy, covering topics ranging from renewable heat to nuclear resilience.

Her 20-year career as a civil servant includes time spent in policy and corporate branches of Cabinet Office, communications at 10 Downing Street, and two years working on commercial policy for the New South Wales state government in Australia.

Commenting on the appointments, Tim Eggar, the OGA’s chairman, said: “I am delighted to welcome Sara, Malcolm and Helena to the Board. They bring outstanding experience and will further enhance the balance of skills that we need to continue to regulate and work with the UK’s oil and gas industry at this crucial time in its history.

“During a tumultuous period of volatile oil prices and the COVID pandemic, the industry has risen to the challenge of playing a vital role in the energy transition but there is much more to do. The OGA is committed to doing everything we can to assist the industry, the supply chain, the government and the wider community as we help to deliver the North Sea Transition Deal as part of the government’s commitment to net zero.

“I would like to thank Frances and Mary for their service over the past six years. Frances’s insight and energy has served the Board well, particularly during her time as interim Chair and as Senior Independent Director. Mary, as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee since 2015, has ensured robust scrutiny of OGA governance. I wish them both well in their future endeavours.”