Oil consultant fined for insider trading on drilling projects

A consultant in the oil and gas industry has been fined £309,843 for insider trading after some of his share trading transactions were reported to the FCA as STORs, (Suspicious Transaction and Order Reports).

By Neasa MacErlean

Using seven different trading accounts, Russel Gerrity, now 57, bought and sold shares in two AIM-listed companies when he knew ahead of the market about the outcome of certain drilling projects. He bought shares in Chariot Oil & Gas Ltd and in Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas before announcements were made to the public that increased their price. On another occasion, he sold Eco shares when oil and gas had not been found.