AUSTRALIAN onshore explorer Empire Energy has appointed an old hand in the oilfield sector to its board, as interest grows in the small cap which owns a massive 13 million acres in the Northern Territory across the Beetaloo and McArthur Basins.

Yesterday afternoon, Empire announced it had appointed Peter Cleary to its board citing his commercial relationships and industry experience as an asset for the company.

Cleary is a familiar face in the oil and gas sector, having worked in senior leadership roles at Santos, the North West Shelf joint venture, and at BP in Asia. 

During his tenure at BP he was president of the North West Shelf Australia LNG, the marketing company for the Woodside Petroleum-led North West Shelf Joint Venture. 

He developed senior venture relationships with LNG buyers and governments in international markets, particularly China. 

Cleary's work at Santos was also LNG-focussed, possibly suggesting some pretty large ambitions by the junior. 

The board of directors told shareholders yesterday, Cleary's industry experience, relationships and track record would be "of particular value" to the company as it looks to progress its Northern Territory acreage from exploration stages to appraisal and ultimately commercialisation. 

The appointment comes as multiple analysts find Empire Energy an attractive investment following the release of new prospective resource estimates. 

Source: Energy News Bulletin

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