Lingo joins the company from his position as senior vice president and head of oil and gas for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which he helped, build into Australia’s leading oil & gas lender and a major regional oil & gas bank. In this capacity Lingo secured some of the largest oil & gas financings and capital raisings in Australia for companies including Beach Petroleum Limited, Roc Oil Company Limited, Arc Energy Limited (now part of Australian Worldwide Exploration Limited), Eastern Star Gas Limited, Strike Oil Limited, Innamincka Petroleum Limited, Orion Petroleum Limited and Stuart Petroleum Ltd.
Prior to joining Commonwealth Bank, Lingo was a strategic acquisition advisor to AGL. There he helped lead its entry into upstream oil & gas, securing investments for that company in its first coal seam gas investment in Sydney Gas, as well as its bid for Tipperary Corporation and its investment in the PNG Oil & Gas project. Lingo was also formerly chief executive officer of Sunshine Gas and vice president business development for Vanco Energy. Before that Lingo was vice president of business development for Europe, Africa & Middle East for El Paso Energy Corporation and director/vice president- business development for Australasia for Tenneco Energy.
Drillsearch Energy executive chairman, Peter Simpson, commented: “We are extremely happy that Brad has chosen to join us at Drillsearch Energy. The Board conducted an exhaustive industry search for the right person to lead the company and Brad was consistently mentioned as that person. From the outset, Brad demonstrated a very clear understanding of the opportunities we have available, as well as an appreciation of how to meet the challenges that lie ahead.”
“He has identified the strategic nature and value of our assets and is excited about the future prospects for the company. This is especially important in the context of the unsolicited offer from Beach Petroleum and his appointment addresses a key criticism in the Bidder’s Statement. The Board is sure Brad will manage the bid process in the best interests of shareholders with the utmost professionalism and determination.”
Lingo has more than 25 years of oil & gas experience ranging from frontier deepwater exploration offshore West Africa to commercialization of major gas projects in Australia. He has been involved in all phases of oil & gas business and project development, mergers & acquisitions, financing and equity capital rising for both listed and private companies both in Australia and internationally.
Lingo has extensive experience in both conventional and non-conventional oil & gas resource development. This experience ranges from leading the commercial development of the South West Queensland Gas Project for Tenneco Oil to the acquisition of both the Moomba-to- Adelaide and Dampier-to-Bunbury gas pipelines for El Paso Energy and Epic Energy.
Lingo welcomed his appointment: “I am extremely excited about the opportunity with Drillsearch Energy and the future prospects of the company. Let me assure all of the company’s shareholders that I will do my utmost to maximize shareholder value. Drillsearch Energy has a wealth of assets, a great exploration portfolio right in the heart of the strategic Western Flank Cooper Basin Oil Fairway in PEL 91, a good pipeline of development projects forming the basis for the company’s gas commercialisation project in PEL 106, solid Cooper Basin oil production, with significant cash on hand to assist with the funding of our programs and no debt.
“I am also pleased that the Board is united behind my appointment and is focused on bringing in the best people both at the Board level and throughout our experienced executive team. The company is on the right path to deliver the value and returns that shareholders deserve. The Board is agreed that over the coming weeks I will be conducting a thorough strategic and business review of the company and its operations, which will be presented to shareholders. I am confident that the review will highlight the strategic value and growth potential of the company’s assets so that shareholders can make a fully informed decision about the unsolicited offer from Beach Petroleum.”
