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The Board of Directors currently has 3 sub-committees; the Audit, Remuneration and Nomination Committees. The terms of reference for these sub-committees may be downloaded using the links below.

Terms Of Reference

Board of Directors

Alastair Beardsall, Executive Chairman

Alastair (dob 1954) joined Sterling in September 2009. He has been involved in the oil industry for over 30 years. For the first 12 years Alastair worked on international assignments with Schlumberger, the oil-field services Company. From 1992 he began working for independent exploration and production operators, with increasing responsibility for specific exploration, development and production ventures.

Between September 2003 and October 2009, Alastair was Executive Chairman of Emerald Energy plc during which time Emerald grew from a market capitalisation of less than £8 million to a size that allowed the Company to enter the FTSE 250 index in January 2009. In October 2009 Emerald was acquired by Sinochem Resources UK Limited, for £7.50 per share in a transaction that valued Emerald at £532 million.

Angus MacAskill, Chief Executive Officer

Angus (dob 1959) joined Sterling as Chief Executive Officer in November 2010. His career in the oil and gas industry started in 1981 with 5 years at Schlumberger on assignments in Africa. Angus joined Mobil Oil and, during 10 years with the company, held a number of production, reservoir engineering and managerial posts in UK and Norway.

Since 1997, Angus has worked for a number of independent exploration and production companies, including Enterprise Oil and Elixir Petroleum, in commercial, managerial and executive positions of increasing responsibility

Angus joined Emerald Energy in 2006 as Chief Operating Officer and in December of that year was appointed Chief Executive Officer. During the following three years, the company experienced material growth following exploration successes in its assets in South America and the Middle East, prior to being acquired by Sinochem in 2009.

Philip Frank, Exploration Director

Phil (dob 1952) joined Sterling in October 2011 as Exploration Director. Following a PhD gained at Liverpool University, he started his oil industry career in 1977 with an 11 year spell in BP, initially as a North Sea rig geologist and finally as the group-wide Assistant Chief Geologist.

Since then he has held senior management positions in a range of UK-based independent exploration and production companies including Clyde, Monument and LASMO, and has gained extensive world-wide exploration experience with an emphasis on new venture generation.

Phil was closely involved with Emerald Energy from 2003 through to its acquisition in 2009.  Initially in a consulting role and finally as Exploration Manager, he provided the exploration direction for the company’s successes both in Colombia and in Syria.

Nicholas Clayton, Non-Executive Director

Nicholas (dob 1963) was appointed a Non-Executive Director of Sterling in October 2009. Nicholas is chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committees.

Nicholas has provided strategic and corporate finance advice to a number of public and private oil and gas companies since January 2007. Between August 2005 and December 2006 he was Global Co-Head of Oil and Gas Corporate Finance for Canaccord Adams. For the previous 5 years he held the position of Global Head of Oil and Gas Corporate Finance for Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, the investment bank, having previously been Global Head of Oil and Gas Research between 1997 and 2000. Nicholas began his career at BP having obtained a first class honours degree in Business Studies, sponsored by BP, from Portsmouth Polytechnic in 1985.

Nicholas serves as a Non-Executive Director of Circle Oil Plc and provides strategic advice to Geopark, an AIM-listed Company operating in Chile and Argentina.

Keith Henry, Non-Executive Director

Keith (dob 1945) was appointed a Non-Executive Director of Sterling in September 2009. He chairs the Remuneration Committee and is a member of the Audit and Nominations Committees.

He has over 35 years of international business experience in the development, ownership, design and construction of major facilities worldwide. He was with Brown & Root Limited for 23 years, the last five of which were as Chief Executive responsible for the Europe, Africa and FSU regions. From 1995 to 1999 he was Chief Executive of National Power Plc, and then Chief Executive of Kvaerner Engineering and Construction Ltd until June 2003.

Keith serves as Chairman of Regal Petroleum Plc and Mediterranean Oil and Gas Plc, as well as serving as a Non-Executive Director and advisor to a number of companies in the engineering, services and energy sectors. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Malcolm Pattinson, Non-Executive Director

Malcolm (dob 1943) is a geoscientist with 40 years of experience and joined Sterling in November 2010. Until 2001 he was the vice-president of exploration for Ranger Oil (which became CNR); and prior to this he was exploration vice-president for Hamilton Oil (which became BHP). From 2001 to 2006 Malcolm was a consultant for Tullow Oil.

Malcolm is an honorary life member and former chairman of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain, and was awarded the medal for outstanding achievement in 1996 by the Petroleum Group of the Geological Society. He is the chairman of GTO Limited and was formerly a Non-Executive Director of Aurelian Oil and Gas Plc.