Brightoil's Head of U.S. Trading Operations Resigns

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday June 15, 2012

Vince Matassa, the head of trading operations in the U.S. for Brightoil Petroleum (Brightoil) has resigned, news agency Reuters confirmed today.

Matassa's profile on the professional social networking website LinkedIn described the position as "President/ Managing Director" of Brightoil in Houston, Texas, with the appointment being listed as a past position ending June 2012.

Having contacted Brightoil, Reuters say no indication was given as to why Matassa had resigned and that he "was not immediately available to comment."

The company advised that until a replacement is found, the current managing director of Asian operations, John Foo, will also head U.S. operations and that "Brightoil will continue to focus on strengthening its presence in the U.S. marketplace."

The news comes two weeks ahead of the company's forthcoming fiscal year end.

Ship & Bunker reported last month that the company had issued a profit warning informing investors that net profits for the year ending June 30, 2012 are expected to "decrease significantly" when compared to the previous year of operations.

Matassa joined Brightoil in August 2010 having spent almost 14 years at BP.

He was one of around 20 staff who left the British oil and gas giant that year to join the Hong-Kong listed rival, the exodus following a large oil spill and the April 20, 2010 explosion on BP's offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon.

Brightoil's operations include bunkering, oil storage, and marine transportation.