Composite Energy Appoints Finance Director

 
Composite Energy (Composite), a Scottish company developing coal-bed methane (CBM) production in the UK and Europe, announced today that it has appointed Colin Bousfield as Finance Director. The announcement marks the strengthening of Composite's senior management team by adding Colin, who has significant oil and gas banking and finance experience.

Colin Bousfield has been a non-executive director of Composite since September 2005 and has over 30 years of banking experience that includes 20 years working in oil and gas lending. Colin joins Composite from The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), where he was a Senior Director within the Oil and Gas Group. He has worked with both independent E&P companies and UK subsidiaries of major oil and gas companies, structuring debt facilities, developing new funding instruments, including mezzanine finance and equity facilities for early appraisal of fields, and advising on acquisitions in the North Sea, NW Europe, India, Australia and the Middle East, in all over 50 facilities totalling over US$10 billion. RBS is an equity investor in Composite Energy.

Keith Lough, CEO of Composite Energy, comments:

"Colin has provided excellent counsel in our early development as a company and he brings unrivalled financing experience to Composite as we consider our options for funding our UK and international CBM growth strategy. With our current efforts appraising Scotland's coal-bed methane reserves and the increasing interest in finding alternative sources of indigenous gas, Composite Energy is forging the development of a coal-bed methane industry in the UK and Europe."

Tom Hardy, Head of Project & Export Finance at RBS, comments:

"Colin joins Composite with our very best wishes. Though we are sorry to lose such a seasoned banker from our staff, we are delighted that he will be strengthening further the management team of a successful new company, which is an important investment for RBS."

Today's announcement follows the company's March 2007 announcement of a 2 year study by Imperial College and Strathclyde University to evaluate CO2 storage in coal beds funded by Composite, BG Group, ScottishPower and The Royal Bank of Scotland.

For further information, please contact:

Composite Energy Ltd
Keith Lough, Chief Executive Officer
+44 (0) 1786 230200

Aquila Financial Ltd
www.aquila-financial.com
Peter Reilly +44 (0)20 7202 2601

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