Southern Africa-focused junior oil and gas company Eco Atlantic has appointed Keely Pearce as its chief operations officer, filling a role previously held by the late Colin Kinley. Concurrently, the company has promoted Alice Carroll to vice president for business development and corporate affairs.

Keely Pearce's Appointment and Background

Keely Pearce brings over 30 years of industry experience to the role, covering exploration, seismic and drilling operations, asset and license management, joint ventures, strategic planning, and mergers and acquisitions. Her career includes a tenure from 2014 to 2025 at Impact Oil & Gas, where her final role was director of the company's affiliates in South Africa, Namibia, and the AGC joint exploration zone between Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. Prior to that, she spent 14 years at Shell, from 1997 to 2011, holding positions in the upstream business and ultimately serving as global head of strategic planning and performance appraisal for Shell Trading.

Strategic Value and Expertise

Eco Atlantic highlighted Pearce's strong technical foundation in exploration geoscience and proven operational ability, noting she was part of the Impact team that discovered the Venus field offshore Namibia. The company emphasized that she brings extensive experience operating within the regulatory and operational environments of both Namibia and South Africa.

Leadership and Strategic Context

CEO Gil Holzman stated that the appointments of Pearce and Carroll will strengthen the company's leadership and market engagement at a critical time. This is as Eco Atlantic advances its offshore Atlantic portfolio and its strategic framework with Navitas Petroleum. The strategic context follows a recent partnership agreement with Navitas, which grants the Israeli company exclusive options to take key stakes in exploration blocks offshore Guyana, South Africa, and potentially Namibia.