Bond handing over reins of Linc Energy

Linc Energy Ltd. CEO and Managing Director Peter Bond is stepping down.

The long-time head of the Australian independent will become executive chairman of the board while Craig Ricato will move into the leadership position, Linc announced Oct. 1.

Bond acquired the small company in 2004 and oversaw effort to expand operations around the world and take the company public. Today, among its operations, Linc is developing the Umiat oil field on the North Slope and is evaluating the feasibility of underground coal gasification in the Interior region and across the Cook Inlet basin.

Ricato joined the company in 2008, as general counsel and company secretary. He moved into his prior position of executive director of legal and corporate affairs in October 2010.

“While a number of candidates were considered,” Bond said in a statement, “a major determining factor for Craig’s appointment was the board’s desire to appoint someone who not only had the experience required for this role, but also someone who knows the business and its history very well and understands the immense opportunities that are available to us; particularly our significant prospective shale oil resource in the Arckaringa Basin (surrounding Coober Pedy) in South Australia and the enormous commercial potential of our proprietary Underground Coal Gasification technology, which is currently growing into some exciting commercial avenues.”

- Eric Lidji