Britain starts hunt for head of new oil regulator

LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - Britain has started the hunt for a leader of its newly created oil and gas regulator, seeking an individual who will be paid more than the Prime Minister to help Britain extract as much oil and gas as possible from the North Sea.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change officially opened applications on Thursday for the role of Chief Executive Officer at the Oil and Gas Authority, a new regulator which will be based in Aberdeen.

The government is looking for an "inspirational and visionary leader" who will establish the regulator and run it for at least three years, the candidate brief said.

Britain is facing a continuous decline in North Sea oil and gas output as old fields run out of easily reachable resources and big oil spenders invest in new frontier markets instead.

The government, after recommendation from oil industry veteran and Wood Group (Frankfurt: JWG1.F - news) founder Sir Ian Wood, decided to create a new regulator tasked with the objective of helping the industry extract as much oil and gas as possible out of the North Sea.

"(The CEO of the new regulator) will be vital in shaping the new body, its structure, its culture and how it interacts with industry and wider government," said Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Edward Davey.

The candidate must quickly gain the respect of the industry and government and should ideally have worked in the UK oil and gas industry and with government, the brief said.

Over the first months the CEO will be responsible for recruiting candidates for specialist roles within the regulator and to make recommendations for changes to Britain's oil and gas taxation regime for the 2015 budget.

He or she will be paid over 200,000 pounds ($341,000), 40 percent more than Prime Minister David Cameron. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Stephen Addison)