Two North Sea veterans have been appointed to run Canadian independent North Sea explorer Iona Energy as it sets out on the acquisition trail.
Iain McKendrick, the former chief executive of Ithaca Energy, is now chairman of the Calgary-listed firm while Tom Reynolds, the former boss of Bridge Energy, takes the helm as chief executive.
The pair were appointed as chief executive and president, Neill Carson, who was instrumental in the founding of both Iona and Ithaca, has left the company “in order to pursue new business opportunities”, Iona said.
Mr Reynolds also takes over the role at Iona after the departure of chief operating officer Alan Curran, who now has Mr Reynolds’ former job as chief executive of Bridge Energy UK.
Mr McKendrick left his job at Ithaca last year citing “personal reasons” after leading the company’s £203million acquisition of Valiant Petroleum.
Announcing the new appointments, Iona said it plans to “create a North Sea production company of scale” by launching a buying spree focused on snapping up producers and producing assets.
It added it will reveal its strategy in a new presentation to investors soon.
The company said:
“The company intends to achieve this strategy which focuses on “Scale, Production, Yield” mainly through acquisition of existing production companies, acquisition of producing assets and a more effective use of tax loss pools.
“Mr Reynolds will be visiting existing shareholders within the next 30 days to outline the plans for the company in more detail.
Don Copeland, Iona Energy’s previous Chairman of the Board said:
“The board of directors is extremely excited about the strategic direction of Iona under the leadership of Tom and Iain. Their proven track records as executives with North Sea oil and gas companies in delivering value for shareholders through both successful operational development and strategic acquisitions are an ideal match for Iona’s next stage of growth and development.
“Iona would also like to thank Neill Carson for his determination and leadership as Chief Executive Officer in leading Iona from start-up into a TSX Venture 50 company.”
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