KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 11): Oil and gas company Barakah Offshore Petroleum Bhd (KL:BARAKAH) announced the resignation of its independent non-executive chairman Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim after five years at the helm.
Barakah Offshore said Zaid, 73, has stepped down to "take a rest from work", according to its bourse filing on Friday. Zaid was appointed to the board on Oct 14, 2019, and does not hold any shares in Barakah Offshore.
Zaid is a former Cabinet minister, having served under the administration of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, where he was responsible for legal affairs and judicial reform.
Following Zaid's departure, Barakah’s founder, Datuk Seri Nik Hamdan Daud, will assume the role of executive chairman with immediate effect.
Nik Hamdan, 57, currently serves as group president and chief executive officer, as well as a non-independent executive director.
Nik Hamdan is also Barakah Offshore’s largest shareholder with a 16.94% stake in the company. The group’s other substantial shareholder is Dakota Integrated Services Sdn Bhd, which holds a 6.35% stake.
Following this, Barakah Offshore also announced the redesignation of Datuk Seri Azman Shah Mohd Zakaria as its new group president and CEO, effective Oct 12.
Azman, 60, previously held the position of deputy president and CEO, and owns a 2.06% stake in the company.
Barakah, which is currently classified under Practice Note 17 (PN17), has recently received an offer from an Indonesian firm for the potential acquisition of its pipe-laying barge, Kota Laksamana 101.
The Edge Malaysia weekly previously reported, in its Sept 16 edition, that the sale discussions are ongoing, with the vessel expected to be sold for under US$10 million (RM43.5 million).
Barakah fell into PN17 status in March 2019 after defaulting on payments to Exim Bank for the vessel.
Shares in Barakah ended unchanged at 4.5 sen on Friday, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM40.62 million. Year-to-date, its shares have appreciated by 12.5%.