Matra Petroleum (LON:MTA) has appointed former deputy chief executive of Russian major TNK-BP Maxim Barskiy, who has recently bought a stake in the company, as chief executive with immediate effect.
Barskiy will replace Peter Hind, who will resign from the board at the end of May.
Investors cheered the news, sending shares in Matra up six percent to 2.75 pence by 9:10 am, giving it a market cap of £53.1 million.
Back in April, Barskiy purchased 575 million new shares in the company at 0.8 pence per share worth £4.6 million, giving him a 29.8 percent stake.
Matra said his involvement was expected to ‘significantly enhance’ the new venture opportunities available to Matra including potential acquisition opportunities in Russia in the short term and potential expansion internationally in the medium term.
Since Barskiy’s appointment to the board, shares in the company have more than doubled from 1.1 pence.
“I and my fellow directors at Matra extend a warm welcome to Maxim Barskiy as Matra's new CEO, and value his long experience in the energy sector,” said chairman of Matra Michael Jenkins.
“We much look forward to working closely with Maxim over the development of the company, within Russia and internationally.”