North Sea veteran Paul Weir has been appointed as chief operating officer of Middle East-focused oil producer Genel Energy.
Weir will move in January from his role as group head of operations and safety for Tullow Oil. He spent more than 13 years with Total Fina Elf in the North Sea sector, where he was a commissioning manager and offshore installation manager.
He moved to Kuala Lumpur with Nippon Oil in 2001 before moving to Talisman, with whom he was VP production & exploration, working in Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. He completed an MBA at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen in 2013.
At Genel, most of whose work is in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, he will be responsible for the performance of company-operated and partner-operated producing assets. Weir will join Genel's executive committee. Genel has smaller interests in Morocco and Somaliland.
Genel chief executive Bill Higgs explained the firm was about to step up production at its Iraq facilities, saying: "Genel is gearing up for rapid operational growth. Maximising the high-margin production from the Tawke and Taq Taq PSCs remains a key focus, as it provides the material cash generation that allows us to rapidly recycle capital into an asset portfolio with the potential to deliver sustained cash flow growth.
"With production from Sarta also less than twelve months away, I am delighted to welcome Paul to the Genel team, where I am certain that his expertise will be invaluable in delivering our growth aspirations."
