The remaining Carpathian directors have slammed the move by Des Luplau, which plans to remove them at an extraordinary meeting on 7th October, saying the action is opportunistic and without any takeover premium.

Luplau and his wife have served two requisitions, firstly to appoint Perth broker Paul Boyatzis as a director and to remove executive director Ildiko Wowesny and managing director Gerald Johnson and secondly to appoint Gregory Lee in place of Johnson.

Lee was a director of the Frank Timmis-controlled Regal Petroleum, which is listed on the London AIM exchange, until earlier this year.

Johnson said the action was planned just as the company had become a producer from the Krasna Oil Field and had almost resolved the legal action surrounding the Breclav oilfield. Carpathian is now on the verge of receiving a regular income stream from the Czech assets which is bound to ignite market interest.

He said he believed the move was designed to hand control to a Vancouver-listed company, WPN Resources, which is associated with a Perth-based businessman, Glenn Whiddon.

Johnson said the resolutions proposed by Luplau will in effect hand control of the company to WPN without it making any appropriate takeover offer. He said Carpathian earlier this year knocked back a farm in offer from WPN, saying the assets were high risk Italian exploration licences, had not been valued correctly and would have been highly dilutionary to shareholders.

Johnson has stated that he believes Paul Boyatzis and Gregory Lee to be nominees of Whiddon.

It is understood Lee, who has an operational background, championed the exploration focussed WPN Resources deal in an attempt to fold the assets into those of Regal Petroleum early in the year.

While it is known that Timmis was not keen on the deal, it is not known if the falling out was responsible for Lee's departure from the board and his return to Perth. Lee had not returned call to EnergyReview.net at the time of publication.