Lgo-energy: LGO Energy shares buoyed by new boss's plans

Investors in so-to-be-renamed LGO Energy PLC (LON:LGO) have been buoyed by the ambitions of new chief executive Leo Koot. LGO is to be rebranded as Columbus Energy Resources Plc - and perhaps apt to the name, the strategy for the 'new company' is to move on after getting lost in the West Indies and explore South America. He still sees Goudron field, which has been producing about 500 bopd, as LGO's 'money maker' that creates the free cash flow support new ventures into larger and 'exciting' exploration plays. Koots highlights that exploration in Trinidad's south west peninsular already provides one such opportunity, with what he describes as 'significant potential', and he is now also looking further afield. ''As of yesterday we re-branded ourselves as an oil production-led exploration company focused on South America'', he said. Not everyone's impressed Investors are seemingly impressed with what they're seeing so far, with LGO shares on the rise. Nonetheless, the company's new direction wasn't warmly welcomed be all - at least not at first. The company's former chairman David Lenigas, who has essentially had his name over the door (it was Leni Gas & Oil before simply LGO), was notably critical on social media in the hours after the news of Koots appointment. @TurquoiseVee @jameswbrown63 Sad. Trinidad is worth hundreds of millions. Time for direct shareholder led change. Action required from all. I don't like new guy. - David Lenigas (@DavidLenigas) May 10, 2017 Despite the previous day's suggestion that he would seek shareholder support for a reinstatement to the company, Lenigas returned to Twitter on Thursday to tell his followers that he would instead prioritise his other interests - in the onshore UK Weald basin. On reflection, it's time to let the new LGO bosses get on with their job. Good luck to them. I need to focus on the Weald Basin Oil. - David Lenigas (@DavidLenigas) May 11, 2017 Getting LGO's act together is the first step Koots arrives at the AIM quoted company with a distinctly blue-chip background - with a CV studded with multinational names such as Royal Dutch Shell, Halliburton and Abu Dhabi's national oil company TAQA. The new boss has a three year plan that sees the company unlock free cash flow from Goudron in the first year, to support subsequent phases of "transformational growth". "First year focussed on getting our act together and then years two and three that's when you'll see the exponential growth. So [investors], get in now." He added: "Getting our act together means a couple of things. LGO has gone through quite a difficult period, like many oil companies since 2014. "LGO is one of few companies that came out of that recession reasonably intact, with the assets still owned by LGO, so that's a very good starting point, but, as a result of the history the whole team and the whole operation were set in a legacy mindset. "They were worried about what happened in the last years and found it difficult to look to the future. So, with me we're going to be looking at the future rather than see what happened in the past."