Savannah Petroleum PLC, the British independent company focused around oil and gas activities in Niger and Nigeria, is pleased to announce the appointment of David Clarkson as Chief Operating Officer (“COO”).

David is currently a Non-Executive Director of the Company and, with immediate effect, will commence executive duties as COO. He will continue as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company. David will be accountable for all aspects of the Company’s technical and operational activities, including HSSE, executing capital investment plans, work programme, budget and delivery of development projects. Intrinsic in his COO role, David will also continue to build Savannah’s organisational capability in line with the Company’s growth agenda.

David holds a BSc degree in Mechanical Engineering, has over 40 years’ experience in the oil gas industry and is a Chartered Engineer, and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He was formerly a member of BP’s Group Leadership Team and Senior Vice President for Projects and Engineering in the Upstream business. Throughout his career he held a number of senior leadership posts in major frontier greenfield developments in challenging locations.

Steve Jenkins, Chairman of Savannah Petroleum, said:
“I am delighted to announce the appointment of David Clarkson as COO. David has a wealth of international oil and gas experience, and we look forward to his contribution as we work towards both the creation of a potential R3 East early production scheme in Niger and the full integration of the Seven Assets in Nigeria into our business.”

Andrew Knott, CEO of Savannah Petroleum, said:
“I am very pleased to welcome David to our executive team. He has a proven track record of delivering upstream projects in emerging market environments, and I am confident that his technical expertise, development leadership experience and enthusiasm will be of great benefit to Savannah.”