Bula chief executive resigns after six months

Bula Resources' attempts to re-invent itself suffered another setback yesterday with the surprise resignation of Mr John Hogan as chief executive after only six months in the job. No reason was given for Mr Hogan's departure.

Mr Albert Reynolds, the former Taoiseach and chairman of Bula, becomes executive chairman. Two weeks ago the company was forced by the Irish Stock Exchange to issue a statement clarifying its activities in Libya.

The request followed comments from the National Oil Corporation of Libya that apparently contradicted the impression given by Bula to its shareholders that it was pursuing a number of opportunities in the north African state.

Bula's shares collapsed yesterday from 30 cents (for a block of 10) to 14 cents on the news of Mr Hogan's departure before staging a modest recovery to close at 18 cents in Dublin. More than 48 million shares changed hands in London where the shares fell by 0.7p sterling to 1p sterling.

One of the company's two non-executive directors, Mr Eonuh Rhee, has also tendered his resignation in order to pursue other interests, according to Bula. Mr Rhee, originally from South Korea, had extensive contacts in Libya where Bula is currently seeking exploration licences.

According to Bula, Mr Rhee is the chief executive of a German project management company called IAB which is a subsidiary of DAC, the large South Korean construction company. DAC was involved in the $10 billion (€10.8 billion), 15-year "Great Man Made River" irrigation project in Libya.

A employee of IAB at its offices in Leipzig said that Mr Rhee had left the company - which was insolvent - yesterday.

A spokesman for Bula said it would not be elaborating on a brief statement issued yesterday in which Mr Reynolds said: "The board regrets that John's appointment did not work out for either side and would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank him for the contribution he has made to the company."

The spokesperson declined to comment on why the company was not prepared to explain the reasons for Mr Hogan's departure. Mr Reynolds and Mr Hogan were not available for comment.

Mr Hogan had served as chief operating officer of Lasmo - the successful independent British oil company - for six years before leaving after a re-organisation in 1999.

He joined Bula in August. His appointment was meant to draw a line under a series of messy boardroom squabbles and scandals that had dogged the small exploration company for five years.

Bula's problems date back to a 1995 foray into Russia spearheaded by the company's then chairman Mr Jim Stanley.

The Russian venture ended in disaster with funds going missing and Bula being investigated by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Mr Stanley was replaced by Mr Reynolds in early 1999 and most of the company's senior management left over the following 12 months prior to Mr Hogan's appointment.

Bula had been involved in Libya for several years but it became the focus of the company's activities under Mr Hogan. Relations with the authorities in Libya were strained before Mr Hogan took over.

Unfounded optimism over Bula's prospects in Libya had led to a surge in the share price at the start of 2000 and the company was publicly rebuked by the National Oil Corporation of Libya.

Bula appeared to have repeated its error in January this year after it was censured by the Libyan authorities for a second time when the Libyans denied they were in any negotiations over licences with the Irish company.

This sparked a fall in the company share price from 36 cents (for a block of 10 shares) to 26 cents before recovering to around the 30-cent level they were at before yesterday's announcement.