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| Opus Blog |
| By speaking with Board-level executives on a daily basis our Partners are in a unique position to understand the key issues and trends affecting leadership and business success. In this monthly blog our Partners share with you their perspectives and insights into the changing roles, responsibilities and requirements of leaders in today’s ever-changing business environment. |
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| Opus Blog Date: March 2009 |
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| Opus lunch event in February |
| Opus Partners hosted their monthly event Opus Lunch attended by executives from O&G companies and City financiers. As usual we had a very interesting discussion around the table while enjoying our meal at The Guinea Grill. Some key issues of current relevance in the oil and gas sector were discussed; these centred upon finance, performance and directors' remuneration. |
| Finance |
| It was noted that many shareholders are concerned about dilutive placings; in the absence of drilling success these placings are often needed to keep companies going, and even on success, they are often needed to pay for the next stage of the work programme. Mention was made of some companies which never make any significant operational progress, and keep going back to shareholders every year for more funds. The difficulty in obtaining conventional lending from banks was mentioned, as was the potential drain upon available funds by a number of company flotations planned for 2010. However, it was also noted that some companies have been able to obtain substantial funding from banks: two specific examples were a low-risk development of heavy oil, and a major exploration programme now underway in the former Soviet Union. Overall, the position was therefore varied. |
| Performance and remuneration |
| In the success case, share prices did not seem to necessarily reflect achievement; a specific example of this was given. Nor did there seem to be any strong correlation between the remuneration of directors and the achievement of the companies. In a number of instances, recent improvements in the share price were no more than a recovery, and often only a partial one, of previous heavy declines. It was felt that remuneration committees needed to take account of this longer-term position. Investor returns in recent years had often been poor. The need for companies to set out their portfolios in a quantified way, so that investors could see what was being pursued, was discussed. In this context, the simple performance measure of expressing the portfolio in terms of unrisked barrels of oil per share (the BPS index), and examples of its application, were mentioned. |
| Other events Opus attended - new sponsorship by Opus of Finding Petroleum Conferences |
| It is very clear in the oil industry that oil companies of all sizes will have to look towards new technologies that will help the industry "to find the required resource with significantly less wells and/or spend significantly less on any one well" (see David Bamford's article "Finding Successful Technology Companies" on www.oilvoice.com. We have recently teamed up with David's new venture and are now sponsoring Finding Petroleum conferences dedicated to Exploration and Technology. The next conference will be held on 16th of March at The Geological Society and is called Advances In Geophysics & Reservoir Description. The event will highlight some of the innovation going on with geophysics and sub-surface technology, which can provide oil and gas companies with an opportunity to take a big step ahead of the competition. Opus partners will be at the event and if you wish to speak to Brian Martin or Oxana Bristowe please let us know. To register for the event visit www.findingpetroleum.com. |
Written by: Oxana Bristowe, Partner, Opus Executive Partners
obristowe@opusexecutive.com |
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| Opus Blog Date: October 2009 |
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| Opus Lunch |
| At Opus we had a busy October. We hosted an Opus lunch attended by senior executives from O&G and Mining sectors as well as representatives from the City. After usual introductions around the table the discussion drifted towards two main issues that concern directors of resources companies present at Opus lunch. One issue was raised by a Non-Executive Director of an AIM listed company with regards to AIM listing and how people in other sectors have been affected by the dramatic fall in share price and whether there was any point being listed on AIM given the hardship of raising money that many companies have experienced recently and the stigma that goes with being an AIM listed company. Another issue discussed was in relation to the Regulator of AIM listed companies raised by a CEO of an E&P company. At Opus we are closely working with AIM listed companies so both issues discussed were of interest to us.
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| Is there any point of being on AIM? |
| Our guests from the City pointed out that AIM listed companies from all sectors suffered share price fall over the last 12 months. They also said that despite scepticism in some quarters in the City regarding AIM listed companies the interest in them is returning, especially in the resources sector. Some investors, institutional and private, are returning to buying resources stocks as low share price, non-dependence of resources companies on the state of national economy and consumer spending, low interest on other investment products and general consensus that the demand for resources will return after the recession provides an optimistic platform for their decision to invest again. Despite the fact that a lot of resources companies in mining and O&G are struggling with finding finance, AIM is important and here to stay. This view has been supported by press reports that up to 20 oil and gas IPOs are expected in London next year and about £1.7 billion has been raised so far in 2009 from secondary issue in the O&G sector alone. I would like to add that resources industries depend on small entrepreneurial companies who make a significant contribution to the industry in exploration and development stages of resources projects. These companies are led by former executives from large resources companies or business entrepreneurs who are seeking a different style of working, new challenges and significant financial rewards that small resources companies can offer. |
| AIM Regulator |
| With regards to the issue on the Regulator of AIM our guests agreed that it requires improvements and that it makes life of executives very miserable. The regulators move too slowly, dealing with issues 5-6 years old and by then Boards have often left, and new shareholders have to pay the price in fines and time to address any breach of AIM rules of long-gone former Boards. The opinion expressed was that fines should be levied on the former Boards. There was another interesting comment: “If your share price falls 90% the regulator is not interested - why, but if your share price goes up by say 5% they are on the phone to you asking to explain the raise”. The conclusion was that there is much to do about how AIM is regulated and that it should be more helpful to executives while protecting interests of the investors. |
| Opus Board level appointments compilation |
| We are pleased to inform you that we decided to make monthly compilations of LSE Board appointments for O&G and Mining companies. We hope that it will be of interest to our audience. In September and October there were nearly 100 announcements on Board appointments and changes in Oil & Gas and Mining sectors. It is obvious to us that investors and companies took a chance with recent changes in the market place to review their Boards performance and make changes where necessary. Our own observation is that a lot of AIM listed companies have very unbalanced Boards and that they do not always have the right mix of skills necessary to support and deliver on company’s strategy. At Opus we are conducting Board analysis for Chairman or investors to help them ensure that they have the best people to manage companies and deliver results. You can download pdf file of September and October LSE Board appointments for O&G companies and Mining companies here. |
| Other Events attended in October |
| I went to Finding Petroleum seminar in October and thought it was a very interesting and well-attended event. Finding Petroleum has been set up by David Bamford and colleagues from Oilvoice and focuses on technology and challenges of exploration for oil and gas. It attracts a number of senior people from exploration focused O&G companies, service companies and technology companies working in the oil sector. I was particularly interested in the presentation by Chris Einchcomb who is leading the Russian services company Integra seismic division. Chris gave a first hand overview of opportunities in Russia and challenges of implementing new technologies. I found it interesting to learn that there was no new O&G discovery in Russia for the last 5 years and that there are vast territories in Russia that remain unexplored. If you are interested in Finding Petroleum and presentations here is the website where you will find relevant links – www.findingpetroleum.com.
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Written by: Oxana Bristowe, Partner, Opus Executive Partners
obristowe@opusexecutive.com |
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| Opus Blog Date: September 2009 |
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| Headhunting – Ancient and Modern |
In the early days of executive search, the ‘magic’ was the “black box” (or book) from which excellent candidates emerged, to a surprised and delighted client. Today, as we at Opus well know, winning the business against hugely increased competition, and “closing the deal” between demanding clients and candidates, are the key search skills (as well, of course, as still attracting the best candidates). Consider competition: I was the 4th consultant at the London office of my first search firm in 1977. Today there are over 40 there, with a similar pattern in other big search firms; many more search firms overall; and a ‘blurring’ of the line between pure headhunting, selection (via advertising) and ‘recruitment’ in general.
Search has also become very specialised, so it was entirely appropriate when Opus Executive Partners set up in 2007 that we should focus primarily on the Natural Resources Industries (Oil, Gas, Mining, Renewable and their support sectors), at Board level, both Executive (i.e. full time CEO’s/COO’s/CFO’s etc) and Non Executive (Chairman, NED’s etc). Gone are the days, as I started 32 years ago, when I could breakfast with a Law firm, work on a Banking search in the morning, lunch with a prospective Consumer Goods client, spend the afternoon interviewing candidates for a Natural Resources search and then dictate a proposal to an Industrial prospect in the evening – interesting as such variety was!
But the converse of such specialisation is the limitation when “your” industry/sector turns down; when you have so many clients in ‘your’ limited area that you cannot take on more, or even access some for your existing clients; and when the pressure is to work at lower levels for existing clients, rather than top levels for more clients. Fortunately, Natural Resources is a big, and growing, sector which – despite clients “holding off “ on some Board appointments or deferring IPO’s in the 08/09 “credit crunch”, has permitted Opus Executive Partners to thrive, become better known and strengthen our position in our specialist markets.
Which brings me to this new website, designed to be more user friendly and informative. As Co-Sponsors of both Oilbarrel and Minesite, we support the small-medium sized companies making regular investor presentations in “our” sectors. We hold regular lunch discussions for Chairmen, CEO’s, NED’s and Senior Advisers, at which industry views (and business cards!) are exchanged, and we have occasional special speaker events covering topical aspects of our sectors. I belong to the Quoted Companies Alliance, which keeps us in touch with small-medium sized company issues. This ‘blog’, and articles contributed, are designed – now and regularly in future – to provide insights and to inform our increasing audiences on relevant industry topics.
So, welcome to Opus Executive Partners – ‘Naturally Resourceful’!
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Written by: Mark Weedon, Partner, Opus Executive Partners
mweedon@opusexecutive.com |
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