Total silent on boss departure
Francois Rafin, EX general manager total Uganda
What you need to know:
General manager has been in office since June last year
Kampala. Oil Company, Total E & P (Uganda Ltd) has maintained silence over the unexpected departure of its “new” general manager, leaving speculation to fill the void.
Mr Francois Rafin was appointed general manager in June last year. Last week, barely a year after assuming his position, reports emerged that Mr Rafin had quit the French oil company.
“It is true. He left,” said Ahlem Friga – Noy, Total’s head of corporate affairs. When asked about the reasons for Mr Rafin’s departure and whether any replacements have been made, she said; “I am unable to comment about that now.”
Industry analysts suppose that the delay in issuing production licences to Total E & P could have induced the former boss’s sudden departure.
Officials from Tullow and Total, two of the three joint venture partners, have on a number of occasions urged government to speed up the process of granting them licences. Only CNOOC has been issued a licence for the Kingfisher field.
Efforts to get a comment from Petroleum Exploration and Production Department, by press time, were futile.
Total E&P started operations in Uganda in 2012. The firm is credited for introducing new technology in the oil industry having drilled the first horizontal well in East Africa and introducing the first 3D cable-less seismic technology in Africa.
Francois Rafin, EX general manager total Uganda
Work experience. He has worked with Total for over 35 years. Prior to his appointment in Uganda, he was an Adviser to Total SA in Paris, France, from 2013 to 2014. Prior to that, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of Yemen LNG Company in Yemen, from 2009 until 2012.
