THE UK boss of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) International has quit the firm.
Ray Riddoch OBE, managing director and senior vice president for Europe and Africa at the Chinese operator, had been at the helm for nearly five years having started with the firm in 2013.
A spokesperson for China National Offshore Oil Corporation confirmed the departure.
It is understood a replacement for the 59-year-old has not yet been selected.
Mr Riddoch was made an OBE in 2018 for his services to the energy sector.
A spokesperson for the firm, who has an office in Kingswells said: “We can confirm that Ray Riddoch has decided to leave Cnooc International.
“We thank him for his contributions to growing our Europe and Africa business.”
Mr Riddoch has more than 35 years’ experience in the industry, working for a number of major exploration and production companies.
Starting out at Occidental Petroleum and Elf, he then became operations manager for French oil and gas giant Total’s Elgin Franklin fields.
He is currently a co-chairman of trade body Oil and Gas UK, a director of the Oil and Gas Technology Centre and the Scottish Council for Development and Industry.
Mr Riddoch is a member of a steering committee at the Oil and Gas Authority and a past member of the Scottish Government’s Energy Taskforce.
In 2017, Mr Riddoch was appointed as a Fellow of the Energy Institute and the HRH Prince of Wales’ Ambassador in Scotland for business in the community.
