NORTH Sea heavyweight Les Thomas is joining the board of a minnow that hopes to develop a major new production hub in the area.
Mr Thomas has been appointed a non-executive director of Jersey Oil & Gas (JOG).
The Aim market-listed company said Mr Thomas will bring a wealth of experience of leading oil and gas production and services businesses in the North Sea that will be of significant value to the firm.
It is seeking backing for a plan to restart production from the venerable Buchan field as part of a £1 billion project. This will include the development of the Verbier find JOG made in the area.
READ MORE: North Sea minnow's shares surge as hopes of restarting production from giant field grow
Mr Thomas takes up the position with the firm six months after parting company with Israeli-owned Ithaca Energy, which he led on a big push for growth in the North Sea.
Ithaca bought a $2bn North Sea portfolio from US giant Chevron in 2019 under Mr Thomas’s leadership.
Mr Thomas was chief executive of Ithaca when the business was acquired by Israel’s Delek in a £1bn deal in 2017.
READ MORE: Israeli oil group highlights value of North Sea 'growth engine'
He took charge at Ithaca in 2013 after running the production facilities business at Wood, which has long been a major player in the North Sea oil services market. Before Wood, Mr Thomas spent 22 years working for US giant Marathon.
Buchan was shut down in 2017 having been in production since 1981. The former operator of the field, Repsol Sinopec Resources UK, decided it made commercial sense to decommission the associated production facilities.
Mr Thomas became a director of Repsol Sinopec Resources UK in December.
Shares in Jersey Oil & Gas closed down 5p at 165p leaving it with a market capitalisation of around £50m.
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