UK Oil & Gas founder Lenigas quits

Controversial oil man David Lenigas has called it quits at UK Oil & Gas, the tiny explorer he helped set up in 2013 and which has discovered oil near Gatwick Airport. The shares rocketed by over 1,000% earlier this year following the Gatwick find, but Lenigas, who will stay as a consultant for four months, has a history of building companies then moving on. UKOG, it seems, is no different.

Lenigas, who has claimed that up to 100 billion barrels of oil lay beneath the ground in the Weald Basin, is retiring "to focus on other business interests". He will be replaced by current chief executive Steve Sanderson who becomes executive chairman. Sanderson took the helm in January and has been managing UKOG's interest in the Horse Hill project.

"It is my policy to step down from the boards of companies once I believe that they have reached a state of maturity where they require sector-experienced executive management to take over," said Lenigas on Wednesday.

"The progress the company has made is a source of great satisfaction and I feel confident that this is the right time to hand over the reins to a respected oil executive with high credentials who I believe will continue to drive the company forward."

(click to enlarge)

Lenigas has his fingers in lots of pies - he's still chairman of Evocutis, Afriag, Rare Earth Minerals and has links to other oil companies - and still owns over 73 million UKOG shares.

"Mr Lenigas has been pivotal to the development of UKOG, building up the company from scratch. He leaves the company is a very strong position both operationally and financially," said WH Ireland analyst Brendan D'Souza. "UKOG currently has £8 million in cash and a further $10 million of debt facility that it can tap into."

"Today's news although not expected, is in line with Mr Lenigas' prior involvement with companies, such as Leni gas & Oil (now called LGO Energy) and Solo Oil and Gas, where Mr Lenigas helped found and develop, thereon choosing to pass on the baton to senior management to operate."

UKOG has a 31% interest in Horse Hill Developments, owner of a 65% stake in licence PEDL137 in the UK Weald Basin. In April, Nutech said it thought that Horse Hill-1 held about 158 million barrels of oil (mmbo) per square mile. The Horse Hill licences - PEDL137 and PEDL246 - cover 55 square miles of the Weald basin.

Oil experts at Nutech recently upgraded predictions for the Horse Hill-1 well to over 9.2 billion barrels of so-called P50 oil in place (OIP) at the Weald basin site. P50 means there a 50% chance of the estimate being equalled or exceeded.

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.