North Sea operator Alpha Petroleum has appointed industry veteran Charles Proctor, once of BP, as its chief financial officer.
Alpha said Mr Proctor’s experience would be invaluable as the Surrey-based firm targets project sanction for its 100%-owned Cheviot field east of Shetland.
In a career in oil and gas spanning almost three decades, Mr Proctor held a variety of commercial and financial roles in BP’s upstream and downstream business.
He was CFO for BP’s exploration and production division in Angola for three years starting 2004, before moving to the oil major’s Azerbaijan unit.
In 2009, he was appointed head of the BP group chief executive’s office and became regional president for BP Middle East in 2010.
He then spent three years at independent producer Genel Energy and has worked as a consultant since 2015.
Alpha, founded in 2002, is owned by private equity firm Petroleum Equity, which acquired the firm’s North Sea assets from ATP Oil & Gas Corporation in 2014.
Alpha chief executive Andy Crouch said: “We are delighted to have Charles join the team. His considerable international experience at an executive level will greatly add to the team’s existing expertise.
“To welcome such a veteran of the sector who also understands the challenges that face a smaller entrepreneurial business such as ours will be invaluable as we continue to develop the Alpha proposition.”
Mr Proctor said: “I am delighted to be joining Alpha Petroleum. The team’s strong industry experience and operational knowledge put the firm in a commanding position to take advantage of an opportunity such as Cheviot, which is already making swift and impressive progress. I look forward to working with Andy, the team and Petroleum Equity.”
Last month, Alpha agreed a deal with GE Oil & Gas for the development of subsea infrastructure for Cheviot, which has been described as one of the largest undeveloped oil fields in the UK North Sea.
A month earlier, the firm inked agreements with Teekay Offshore, lining up the Varg floating production, storage and offloading vessel for the project.
Alpha aims to sanction Cheviot during the fourth quarter of 2017 and is targeting first oil in 2019, at an expected rate of at least 30,000 barrels per day.
The post Ex-BP executive joins Alpha’s push for Cheviot production appeared first on Energy Voice.