It’s been a fortnight of corporate comebacks for former BP executives. First out of the blocks was Tony Hayward, the former chief executive of the UK oil group, with the launch last week of his energy fund, Vallares. And this week, Andy Inglis, his former colleague who used to run BP’s exploration and production arm, made his first public appearance in front of City investors in his new job at Petrofac, the oil and gas service provider. Both men left BP last year in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico spill.

As head of BP’s upstream business based in Houston, Texas, Mr Inglis was in charge of its exploration activities at the time of the gulf accident. He resigned from the board of BP after Bob Dudley, who took over as chief executive officer from Tony Hayward after the accident, initiated a wholesale restructuring of the upstream division.

Mr Inglis heads Petrofac’s new Integrated Energy Services division which brings together the company’s solutions, energy developments and training services businesses. The division is focused on so-called ‘resource holders’ or national oil companies that own small and medium-sized undeveloped fields. Unlike other service companies, IES will not only provide straight-forward services such as engineering and construction but, where appropriate, it will also provide capital.