A BUSINESS development organisation supporting oil and gas, nuclear and offshore businesses, has appointed a new chairman.

NOF Energy has welcomed Paul Charlton to the role.

Mr Charlton, who is chief executive of PDL Solutions, based in Northumberland, succeeds Graham Payne, the former boss of Darchem Engineering, in Stillington, near Darlington.

Enjoying more than 30 years’ experience in the chemical and energy industries, Mr Charlton founded engineering consultancy PDL Solutions in 2000.

He is also a non-executive board member of Decom North Sea, sits on the Subsea North-East executive committee as chairman of the research and technology steering group, and has been a NOF non-executive director since 2010.

He said: “I've been involved with the organisation for many years and I can testify to the benefits of membership for companies looking to develop their presence in the key energy sectors.

“I'm looking forward to helping drive NOF's future strategy, which will have the ambitions of the members at its heart.”

George Rafferty, NOF chief executive, added: “Paul's chairmanship begins at the start of another exciting period, and with more than 450 UK and international members, we've become one of the key supply chain organisations in the energy sector.”

The organisation has also appointed new board members, including Jamie Brown, managing director of Stockton-based Francis Brown, which makes winches for remote-operated vehicles for offshore wind projects, and Craig Melville, deputy chief executive of Wallsend's OGN Group, which is creating hundreds of jobs through North Sea gas work.