About Us
Management
Keith C. Hill
President & CEO
Mr. Hill has been the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer since 2009. He was the former Chairman of the Board from 2009 until 2016. Mr. Hill is also the Chairman of ShaMaran Petroleum Corp., an oil development and exploration company. He has over 35 years' experience in the oil industry including over 20 years with the Lundin Group as well as international new venture management and senior exploration positions at Occidental Petroleum and Shell Oil Company. Mr. Hill is a former director of BlackPearl Resources Inc., 3 Sixty Risk Solutions Ltd. (formerly, Petro Vista Energy Corp.), and Tyner Resources Ltd. He is also the former President and Chief Executive Officer of BlackPearl Resources Ltd., Valkyries Petroleum Corp. and ShaMaran Petroleum Corp. His education includes a Master of Science degree in Geology and Bachelor of Science degree in Geophysics from Michigan State University as well as an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in Houston.
Pascal Nicodeme
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Nicodeme has over 17 years' experience in the oil and gas industry and banking. He began his career as a field geophysicist for Total. Mr. Nicodeme joined Perenco in 2002, where he ran the group cost and management control and subsequently became group finance manager, then deputy general manager of the UK branch. Mr. Nicodeme then joined the banking industry and held management positions in the Reserve Based Lending and Project Finance and Advisory teams of several banking institutions, including Natixis, Credit Agricole CIB and Standard Chartered Bank. Mr. Nicodeme joined NewAge in 2015 and was appointed interim CEO in 2019. Mr. Nicodeme holds an engineering degree from the Ecole Polytechnique, a MSc from the French Institute of Petroleum and a MBA from INSEAD.
Craig Knight
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Craig Knight joined Africa Oil in August 2021 and brings with him over 16 years of industry experience. He graduated from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Petroleum Engineering and joined Woodside Energy’s graduate Petroleum Engineering program. Mr. Knight moved to Denmark to join Maersk Oil in 2011 where he held various roles across petroleum, production and completions engineering, as well as in exploration and subsurface leadership. In 2017 Mr. Knight moved to Aberdeen with Maersk Oil, where his roles included Subsurface leadership and Non-Op Asset Management. From 2018 to 2021, Mr. Knight was Production Director for Spirit Energy where he was responsible for Production Management, Hydrocarbon Accounting and developing Spirit’s carbon emissions reporting processes.
Amy Bowe
Vice President ESG
Ms. Amy Bowe has nearly 20 years of experience covering the energy industry, with a strong focus on climate risk and strategy. Prior to Africa Oil, she served as head of Wood Mackenzie’s newly created Carbon Research practice. In this role, she was responsible for developing new carbon-related products and offerings. These included the company’s suite of industry leading Emissions Benchmarking Tools, which provide transparency into emissions performance and risk down to the asset level for both Oil & Gas and Metals & Mining operations. Prior to launching the Carbon Research practice, she spent eight years with Wood Mackenzie’s Consulting team, where she originated and co-led development of Wood Mackenzie’s Emissions Benchmarking initiative. She also led the Consulting team’s broader Carbon offering, including energy transition strategy development, lifecycle emissions analysis of portfolios and investments and scenario analysis for purposes of TCFD disclosure. Before Wood Mackenzie, Ms. Bowe spent four years at Hess Corp., the majority of which time she worked as a member of Hess’ Corporate Strategy team. In that role, she conducted long-term supply and demand analyses of oil, gas, and broader primary energy trends, and helped to develop the company’s climate change strategy. Ms. Bowe has also worked as a Senior Oil Analyst for PIRA Energy, an Analyst with PFC Energy’s Upstream Competition Service, and an Analyst with Ziff Brothers Investments’ energy sector team in New York. Ms. Bowe holds an MA in International Relations and Economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a BA in Communication, French, and Political Science from the University of Arizona.
Dr. Paul Martinez
Vice President Exploration
Dr. Martinez has over 33 years of international and domestic US experience in the oil industry. Prior to joining Africa Oil Corp. Dr. Martinez was a Director of International Business Development with Occidental Petroleum Corporation and over a period of 18 years worked exploration projects in the Texas Gulf Coast, Permian Basin, Rockies, Latin America, the Middle East, Russia and Africa. He has held overseas management positions for Oxy in Libya, Oman and Peru. While serving as Director of Africa Exploration at Oxy Dr. Martinez led exploration efforts with a focus on East Africa, West Africa, and Libya. At Africa Oil Corp Dr. Martinez has directed exploration efforts in all of the Company's assets in East Africa. Dr. Martinez holds a Master of Science and Doctorate degrees in applied earth sciences from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum geology from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Martinez is based in Africa Oil's UK office and is responsible for all geological and geophysical activities of the Company.
Rashida McLean
Corporate Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Ms. McLean has 11 years of legal, corporate governance and regulatory compliance experience in the renewable energy, mining, banking, and oil and gas sectors. Prior to joining Africa Oil, Ms. McLean served as Corporate Counsel for Lundin Gold Inc. She has also served as Legal Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Finavera Wind Energy Inc., now Solar Alliance Energy Inc. Ms. McLean has been involved in a broad range of corporate transactions and corporate governance matters for a number of publicly listed companies. She also currently serves as the Corporate Counsel and Corporate Secretary of The Lundin Foundation, and The Lundin Global Initiatives Foundation. Ms. McLean graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.A.(Hons) and then received her law degree from the University of Victoria. She is a member of both the British Columbia and Ontario Bars.
Kylie Litchfield
Group Financial Controller
Ms. Litchfield is a Chartered Accountant who has over 16 years of experience within the energy industry. Prior to joining Africa Oil, Ms. Litchfield held senior finance roles within New Age (Africa Global Energy) Ltd and Afren plc in the treasury and commercial planning teams, including raising RBL and bond financing. Between 2015-2017 Ms. Litchfield worked with Alix Partners and Alverez and Marsal LLP to manage the restructuring, and subsequent administration and wind up of Afren Plc. Prior to Afren, Ms. Litchfield was in the Deloitte LLP Energy and Resources audit team in London with key listed clients including Salamander Energy plc, Gulfsands plc and Anglo American plc operating in Africa, the Middle East, USA and Thailand. Ms. Litchfield holds a Business Science degree from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and is a Fellow Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales.