Oil explorer Tullow has announced the exit of its Kenyan Chief Executive Officer Martin Mbogo effective December 31.
Mbogo’s exit which aligns with the end of his 10-year-long contract at the end of the year is part of the Group’s re-organization of operations that has seen it trim its headcount.
“We sincerely thank Martin for his contributions and achievements for Tullow and the Kenyan Oil & Gas sector in a challenging environment. His passionate advocacy of Local Content and the localisation of staff and contractors has set an example of what can be achieved by companies that take their obligations to host nations and communities seriously,” said Tullow Group CEO Rahul Dhir.
The Group has subsequently appointed Madhan Srinivasan as its next CEO for Kenya. Srinivisan is currently Tullow Kenya Asset Director.
Martin Mbogo has guided Tullow Kenya’s oil exploration activities since 2011 reaching various milestone including the country’s and region’s first crude oil export to the international market in October 2019.
His pioneering work in Kenya’s oil and gas sector saw him earn various awards including the Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW).
Tullow continues to review its local operations which will see it considerably trim its local staff base.
“The Tullow Kenya team will be reduced over the coming months as the work programme required to deliver the comprehensive review is compiled. Because there will be very limited activity in the field and the Group will be sharing resources with its Joint Venture Partners, the team will be considerably smaller although the final headcount is yet to be confirmed,” Tullow said in a statement on Thursday.
Earlier in February, Tullow issued a redundancy notice indicating it would cut up to 650 staff members from its Kenyan operations.
At Group level, the Anglo-English explorer has been undertaking a similar review having let go both its Chief Executive Officer and Exploration Director in 2019 on the back of a depressed production outlook.
Last week, Tullow assured it had both its feet in the country as it suspended its planned farm down/exit after earning an extension of its exploration license to December 2021.
“Separately, the farm down process has been suspended while the Joint Venture Partners complete a comprehensive review of the development concept to ensure it continues to be robust at low oil prices, and also consider the strategic alternatives for the asset,” the company said in an operational update on September 9.
Tullow is expected to continue with early oil exploration activities which includes further export batches of Kenyan crude to the international market to test the quality of output.
The firm is subsequently expected to delay the announcement of its final investment decision (FID).
