Challenger Energy today announced the appointment of a new Country Head and Managing Director for its operations in Trinidad and Tobago.

Mr Sohan Ojah-Maharaj will assume responsibilities in mid-April 2022 as the Company's Country Head and Managing Director - Trinidad and Tobago . In this role, Mr Ojah-Maharaj will be responsible for day-to-day operations in Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname, and will work as a key member of the executive team on the twin aims of delivering organic production growth and seeking to add production growth inorganically.

Mr Ojah-Maharaj is a Trinidadian national, who will be relocating back to Trinidad and Tobago for this role. Mr Ojah- Maharaj is currently a Senior Reservoir Engineer and Business Consultant at the leading global petroleum consultancy, Gaffney Cline & Associates. In this position, Mr Ojah-Maharaj has worked extensively in Trinidad and Tobago and the broader Caribbean region, as well as internationally more generally. Prior to Gaffney , Cline & Associates, Mr Ojah- Maharaj held senior management and operational roles at a number of petroleum companies with assets in Asia, Europe and Trinidad and Tobago. He is a graduate of Imperial College, London, with a Masters in Petroleum Production Management.

The Company's current Managing Director - Trinidad and Tobago , Mr Geoffrey Leid, will be stepping down from his current role in mid-April 2022 once Mr Ojah-Maharaj commences, but will remain with the Company for an agreed transitional period and thereafter as a consultant, and will work closely with Mr Ojah-Maharaj to ensure an orderly transition. The Board thanks Mr Leid for his years of valued service.

Eytan Uliel, Chief Executive Officer said :
"Following completion of the corporate restructuring and recapitalisation process, a number of important changes have taken place at the Challenger Board and management level.

Mr Sohan Ojah-Maharaj will be joining as Country Head and General Manager of our operations in Trinidad and Tobago . Sohan is a Trinidadian national, and brings a wealth of oil field production experience to bear - both in Trinidad and the broader region - as well as deep business networks in Trinidad and Tobago . We thank the outgoing Country GM, Geoffrey Leid, for his years of dedicated service, and we welcome Sohan to the team.

In terms of the Board, as previously advised, Iain McKendrick has now commenced as Non-Executive Chairman, and our previous Non-Executive Chairman, Bill Schrader, and our previous Non-Executive Deputy Chairman, James Smith, have both stepped down from the Board after many years of diligent service and guidance, for which we are extremely grateful. Tim Eastmond has commenced as Chief Financial Officer and joined the Board, and Gagan Khurana has assumed the role of Chief Commercial Officer.

As the process to restructure and recapitalise the Company nears completion, all of us at Challenger very much look forward to the year ahead, as we focus on the simple aims of building safely delivered production, generating cashflow, and achieving profitability."

KeyFacts Energy: Challenger Energy Trinidad and Tobago country profile