Alpha Petroleum Resources Limited, an upstream oil and gas operator focused on the UK sector of the North Sea and backed by private equity firm Petroleum Equity, today announces that it has appointed Charles Proctor, a former executive at BP and Genel Energy, as Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”).

Charles brings over 28 years of diverse experience in the international energy industry to Alpha Petroleum having held senior executive positions at major corporations and worked with smaller, more entrepreneurial businesses.

In his early career, he held a variety of commercial and financial roles in support of BP’s upstream and downstream businesses in the UK and internationally, and in the company’s corporate headquarters. He subsequently became CFO for BP’s major exploration and production businesses in Angola (2004-7) and Azerbaijan (2007-9). In 2009, he was appointed head of the BP Group Chief Executive’s office and became Regional President for BP Middle East in 2010.

In 2012, Charles left BP to join the executive team of Genel Energy, an independent exploration and production company established in 2011, as Head of Commercial and Regional President for Africa. Since 2015, he has been working as an industry consultant providing advisory services to a number of existing and start-up energy companies and is also an independent member of the supervisory board of Naftogaz of Ukraine.

The appointment of a Chief Financial Officer comes as Alpha Petroleum continues to make significant progress in its development of the Cheviot oil field, one of the largest undeveloped fields in the UK North Sea. Alpha Petroleum recently announced that GE Oil & Gas will partner with the firm on the advancement of the subsea infrastructure for Cheviot. In April, Alpha Petroleum announced it had entered into a Front-End Engineering and Design (“FEED”) study agreement with Teekay Offshore Partners for its Varg Floating Production Storage and Offloading (“FPSO”) unit.  Alpha Petroleum expects to achieve sanction for the Cheviot development during the fourth quarter of 2017 and is targeting first oil production in 2019, at an expected rate of at least 30,000 barrels per day.    

Andy Crouch, Alpha Petroleum’s Chief Executive, commented:
“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.”

Charles Proctor added:
“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.”

Alpha Petroleum is backed by Petroleum Equity, an alternative investment firm established in 2012 to address the significant lack of alternative capital providers focused on upstream oil & gas investment opportunities outside North America. Petroleum Equity’s senior industry team has deep and specialist expertise in oil & gas investments, with an average of 27 years’ experience in the sector.

Daniel Reis, Founding Partner of Petroleum Equity, commented:
“We are very pleased to welcome Charles to the team. Since first investing in Alpha back in 2014, the opportunity the firm presents, notably through the Cheviot development but also through its other more mature assets, has continued to attract senior industry experts. Charles is a leader in his field, and we look forward to working with him closely.”