3 Jun 2008 15:24
SPITEFIRE OIL
60 St James's Street, London SW1A 1LE, United Kingdom
Telephone: + 44 (0)20 7629 7774 Facsimile: + 44 (0)20 7629 7773
3TH June 2008
APPOINTMENT OF NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Spitfire Oil Limited ("Spitfire"or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Thyl Kint as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, replacing Mr Andrew Woskett who has resigned from the board of directors as of today's date. Mr Kint, aged 49, is an energy industry professional with over 25 years worldwide oil and gas experience including, most recently, the position of Project Director for the very large Stybarrow and Pyrenees oil and gas projects in Australia operated by BHP Billiton Petroleum.
Mr Kint is a US national, educated and trained as an engineer in Belgium with a Master's degree in engineering and business from the University of California at Berkeley. Mr Kint has previously been employed by Shell, BP, BHP and Kerr McGee whilst working in Europe, North America, Asia & Australia.
Mr Kint has a proven track record of successfully developing oil and gas assets and large projects within very tight schedules including several projects consisting of complex, major processing plants, which produced first-rate uptime and an excellent environmental performance. This track record will provide the necessary foundation to progress the Company's Salmon Gums Lignite to Liquids project and will complement the board's existing mining and oil expertise.
Mr Kint will work with Mr Woskett to effect a seamless hand-over in responsibilities by the 30th June 2008, after which, the Company's operational head office will be transferred from Melbourne to Perth to consolidate the administrative, developmental & operational activities in Western Australia.
Chairman, Mr Mladen Ninkov, commented "The Company is delighted to have a Chief Executive Officer of the caliber of Thyl join the Spitfire team. His exceptional track record of bringing extraordinarily large projects into production on time and on budget is well known throughout the oil and gas world. This is a coup for the Company. Conversely, it is with great sadness that Andrew is leaving the Company. He has done a wonderful job in listing the Company and progressing it to this stage of its development. His decision to prioritize his family obligations and remain in Victoria as the Company consolidates all its activities in Western Australia is a sad one for his fellow directors. We wish him nothing but the best for the future".
Further information
Mladen Ninkov - Chairman Telephone: +44(0)20 7629 7774
Roger Goodwin - Director
Spitfire Oil Limited
Adrian Hadden Telephone: +44(0)20 7523 8350
Collins Stewart Limited
Spitfire Oil Limited's shares are quoted on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange (symbol SRO)
The Company's news releases are available on the Company's web site: www.spitfireoil.com