JPMorgan Poaches Bank of America Energy Banker for EMEA
March 09 2018 - 9:50AM
Dow Jones News
By Ben Dummett
JPMorgan & Chase Co. has poached a senior energy investment
banker from rival Bank of America Merrill Lynch to oversee oil and
gas producers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as
strengthening crude prices signal the prospect of greater deal
activity in the sector.
Based in London, Paul Wheeler will focus on the major oil firms,
such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC, as well as the region's independent
upstream energy companies. He is set to take up his new role this
spring following his so-called gardening leave, according to an
internal memo announcing his appointment. At BAML, Mr. Wheeler was
most recently co-head of EMEA energy investment banking.
The hiring of Mr. Wheeler comes as big oil regains confidence in
its prospects on the back of improving energy prices and growing
profits. In February, Shell reported a more than tripling of its
profit for 2017 from the prior year, while France's Total SA
recorded a 39% jump in full-year earnings from the year-before
period.
That renewed confidence has materialized in part through deal
making in areas such as North Sea oil. In decline for more than a
decade, the region has recently attracted billions of dollars in
investment including Total's $5 billion purchase last year of A.P.
Moeller-Maersk's North Sea-focused oil-and-gas business.
Mr. Wheeler has played a role in that resurgence. At BAML, he
worked on Shell's sale of a chunk of its North Sea assets last year
to Chrysaor Holdings Ltd., an oil company backed by private-equity
firm EIG Global Energy Partners, for up to $3.8 billion.
Among other deals last year, Mr. Wheeler also worked on Shell's
$1.1 billion sale of its Corrib gas field in Ireland to Canadian
Pension Plan Investment Board, Canada's biggest pension fund.
Write to Ben Dummett at ben.dummett@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 09, 2018 09:35 ET (14:35 GMT)
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