Prior to joining Soco, she was a managingdirector in mergers and acquisitions for Bank of America Merrill Lynch withresponsibility for the oil and gas sector.

Soco revealed she had previously advisedthe company on the sale of its assets in Yemen in 2008, as well as the sale ofits Thai assets and buyout of the minority partner in its Vietnamesesubsidiary.

"We have gotten to know Anya well overthe years as a trusted advisor and we are delighted that she is joining Soco,”said chief executive Ed Story.