The 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 Hours race.
He also owns a collection of racing cars, including 19 Ferraris, which he boasts about on his Instagram page. Perrodo continued to post photos of racing cars to his Instagram stories on Monday morning while members of the combined emergency response team tackled the oil spill.
Perrodo, who lives between London, Paris, St Tropez and a €25m castle near Bordeaux, almost destroyed his McLaren F1 GTR last year by filling it up with diesel rather than petrol while on a “morning blast with the boys”.
“After 25 years of dedicated petrolhead life, I did the mother of all **ck ups,” Perrodo said on Instagram.
The exact ownership structure of Perenco is unclear as it is owned by a complex web of holding companies ultimately controlled by a firm in the Bahamas, a tax haven. The Perenco spokesperson confirmed the company is 100%-owned by the Perrodo family but declined to give further details of the ownership structure.
The company’s former UK boss, John Sewell, said in a 2013 interview: “One of the key things for us is that we are a truly independent oil and gas company. We are owned by the Perrodo family, we are not answerable to shareholders, and financially we are in a good position so we can react quickly to opportunities that come along.”
Hubert Perrodo was survived by his wife Ka Yee Wong – a model and agent also known as Carrie Perrodo – who is thought to share the ownership of the company with their three children: François, Nathalie Perrodo-Samani, and Bertrand Perrodo.
Nathalie Perrodo-Samani runs the family’s Château Labégorce in the Margaux vineyards, including a castle that dates back to 1585, which was bought by the family for €25m in 2006.
Bertrand Perrodo co-founded the wine delivery company 31Dover.com, which collapsed into administration last year. The family also own the Notting Hill restaurant Casa Cruz.
Last year, Perenco launched a lawsuit in Peru seeking the repeal of a law protecting uncontacted Indigenous people in the Amazon. Perenco subsequently withdrew the lawsuit in November.
