The billionaire amateur racing driver who runs the Poole oil leak pipeline
T he company that through a subsidiary operates the pipeline involved in the “major incident” oil leak within Poole harbour is owned and run by a multibillionaire amateur racing driver who owns 46 sports cars including a £12m McLaren F1 GTR.
François Perrodo, 46, and other members of his family, own the global oil drilling company Perenco, which controls the Wytch Farm oilfield in Dorset, from which about 200 barrels of “reservoir fluid” – water with 15% of oil – leaked into Poole harbour on Sunday night.
The Perrodo family, which via Perenco owns more than 3,000 oil wells across the world, has built up an estimated fortune of more than £7bn, which they spend on a jet-set luxury lifestyle detailed in Instagram posts.
The company, which operates in 16 countries including Brazil, Ecuador, Cameroon and Gabon, as well as the UK, was founded by Hubert Perrodo, who died in a hiking accident in the French Alps in December 2006.
His eldest son, François Perrodo, took over as Perenco’s chair, a role he combines with motor racing and playing polo at Guards Polo Club in Windsor, where Prince William and Prince Harry have also played.
A Perenco spokesperson said: “François Perrodo and all of the leadership team are of course fully aware of events, which are being effectively managed at a subsidiary level.
“Perenco is working, with the relevant experts and authorities, to clean up the spill, which was limited and quickly contained. Perenco is fully aware of its responsibilities and will work to leave no trace of this incident.”
Perrodo, who changed Perenco’s management team “with a view to balance growth and profitability while respecting people and the environment”, is an amateur racing driver who regularly competes in the Le Mans 24
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