Malcolm Webb, chief executive for Oil & Gas UK, intends to retire next year, the trade association said in a news release.

The exact date of his departure in 2015 is yet to be agreed but will be within a timeframe that allows a seamless transfer of the position to his successor, the release said. Recruitment is now under way, with the Curzon Partnership appointed to carry out the search.

Webb joined Oil & Gas UK in February 2004 when it was known as UKOOA, the UK Offshore Operators’ Association. He has since led the organization through major change to make it the leading trade association open to all companies working in the U.K. offshore oil and gas industry. Its current membership counts almost 500 companies, according to the release.
Prior to his current post, Webb spent three years as director general of the UK Petroleum Industry Association, representing the U.K. oil refining and marketing sector.

Webb is a member of PILOT, the DECC / Oil Industry forum, a member of the Scottish Government’s Energy Advisory Board, the UK Treasury’s Oil Industry Fiscal Forum and of the UK Oil & Gas Industry Council. He is chairman of Common Data Access Ltd. and a director of OPITO Strategic Ltd., the oil industry skills organization. In 2012, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate by Robert Gordon University in recognition of his services to the U.K. oil and gas industry, and in 2013, he received an award for significant achievement from the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

A graduate of Liverpool University and a solicitor by profession, Webb began his oil industry career with Burmah Oil in 1974 and went on to work in a series of senior roles for the British National Oil Corp., Charterhouse Petroleum Plc and PetroFina SA, the release said.