Victoria Oil & Gas launches shake-up after CEO quits

The Acting Chief Executive of Victoria Oil & Gas (VOG) has pledged to turn the Cameroon-focused group around after its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) quit.Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Kevin Foo said in a letter to shareholders that he would lead the group and launch a restructuring following the departure of John Scott at the end of last month.The group plans to seek a new chief and is also in the final stages of agreeing new working capital and bridge funding. It has suffered delays on its flagship Logbaba gas deposit as well as ongoing power outages in Cameroon, resulting in plant stoppages and shutdowns and unauthorized use of waste oil by some customers.Foo said he shared investors' concern about the company's weak share price, which had fallen 0.15p to 0.93p by 8.18am in London.But he claimed it grossly undervalued the business, given its progress in the last four years in drilling two complex wells, installing gas processing facilities, laying pipeline, selling gas and collecting revenue.Foo said he accepted and took responsibility for missing a number of deadlines and targets and said the company had made mistakes despite numerous problems beyond its control.He said: "Nevertheless, we set these targets and a salient lesson we have learned is to expect hurdles and to allow lots of time to overcome them. As pioneers, blazing a trail to consistent gas supply and revenue generation in Cameroon has been a hard and extremely complex one."With the departure of John Scott, we are taking the opportunity to restructure VOG and make a number of project management and operational changes. I shall be taking over as interim CEO until such time as we have found a suitable replacement."Foo said the company was focused on building its business and cash flow from Logbaba to fund further expansion and acquisitions in Africa.It is generating revenue and expects to be profitable at an operating level in November, which Foo said would make it a mid-stream business rather than an explorer.Logbaba is estimated to hold enough proven and probable reserves to supply industrial customers for the next 30 years.PW