Directorate Changes

RNS Number : 7631Y

Lekoil Limited

06 January 2020

 

6 January 2020

Lekoil Limited

("LEKOIL" or the "Company")

Directorate Changes

LEKOIL (AIM: LEK), the oil and gas exploration and production company with a focus on Nigeria and West Africa, is pleased to announce the appointment of The Rt. Hon. Mark Simmonds and Mr. Tony Hawkins as Non-Executive Directors, with immediate effect.

Mr. Simmonds, aged 55, was the Foreign & Commonwealth Office Minister with responsibilities for Africa, the Caribbean, UK Overseas Territories, International Energy and Conflict Prevention. He served as a Member of the UK Parliament for fourteen (14) years and was also a senior advisor to the then Prime Minister, David Cameron. He focused on driving and facilitating inward investment into Africa and the Commonwealth across a range of key economic sectors including Hydrocarbons, Financial Services, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Energy & Agriculture.

Mr. Simmonds has a deep knowledge of the economic and political composition of African Governments, countries and regions and has chaired the UN Security Council on two occasions. He is Chairman of Africa Oil Week, "The Davos of Africa's Hydrocarbon Industry" the link between African Governments and the Private Sector and chairs the African Oil Week Advisory Board. He is additionally involved in clean technology for the Hydrocarbon Sector. He has several other international roles which include being a senior advisor to Kroll, chairman of the Advisory Board of the global investment platform, Invest Africa, senior adviser to a Global Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund, senior adviser to a large UK based Family Office, Chairman of GIG Technology and an Advisory Board Member of the Commonwealth Investment Council. He also has roles with not for profit organisations, including as Honorary Vice President of Flora & Fauna International. He is a Trustee of the British Institute in East Africa, a Board Member of Engender Health and of a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council.

Mr. Hawkins, aged 48, is an English and Australian qualified lawyer of twenty (20) years' experience, who has worked in both private practice and corporate roles. He is a senior energy lawyer, asset manager and commercial negotiator, predominately in oil and gas but also in power, LNG and renewables. Mr. Hawkins is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Columbus Energy Resources plc as well as owning a consultancy firm. Previously, he was Legal and M&A Director at Columbus Energy Resources plc which followed his role as General Counsel & Head of Commercial for Sterling Energy plc, a London listed oil & gas company. Prior to Sterling Energy, Tony spent six (6) years at Centrica plc (a FTSE 100 listed utility), where he had several roles, including interim General Counsel for Centrica Energy. Prior to that, he worked for ten (10) years in private practice in Australia and the UK, most recently with Dewey LeBoeuf in London.

Mr. Hawkins is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and was previously a member of the legal committee of Oil & Gas UK where he was instrumental in helping to develop the standard DES LNG Master Sale Agreement for the European Federation of Energy Traders.

Concurrent with these appointments, LEKOIL announces that Mr. Greg Eckersley, who has served as LEKOIL's interim Chief Financial Officer since May 2019, will not be returning to his previous role on LEKOIL's Board as a Non-Executive Director following the completion of his six (6) month term in that position. The Company's finance function will be overseen by a recently appointed CFO of Nigerian operations, with the assistance of the wider LEKOIL finance team. The process to appoint a candidate to assume overall responsibility for the group finance function is ongoing and the Company looks forward to providing an update as and when appropriate.

In addition, Non-Executive Director, John van der Welle, will also be stepping down from LEKOIL's Board with immediate effect. Hezekiah Adesola Oyinlola will assume the role of Chair of the Audit Committee following John's departure.

Greg Eckersley, interim Chief Financial Officer, commented: "It has been a pleasure to be part of the LEKOIL story from its inception, and as a founding Board member since IPO. In the last seven years it has acquired world class assets and has built a highly skilled and technically competent team. I am pleased with the role that I was able to play in helping achieve this, despite the challenging oil E&P environment that we have had to carefully navigate through. My time as interim CFO was primarily focused on strengthening the financial reporting and procurement system in order to ensure the company is properly prepared for the next phase in its growth. With the important recent extension of the OPL 310 License, the signing of OPL 276 and OPL 325 agreements, and the successful securing of initial development funding, the next few years will be an exciting growth period for LEKOIL and its shareholders. It will be a period that will likely benefit from a new and fresh perspective, which I expect both Mark and Tony will be able to provide to the Board. I wish them, the Board and the full LEKOIL team, every success in 2020 and beyond."

John van der Welle, Non-Executive Director, commented: "Having served on the Board for over six years since the IPO in 2013, through the early stages of the Company's growth achieved in challenging times in the E&P sector, I would like to wish the Company the very best as it embarks on an exciting operational programme moving forward."

Samuel Adegboyega, Chairman of LEKOIL, commented: "I would also like to welcome Mark and Tony to the Board and thank both Greg and John for their significant contribution to LEKOIL. I know I speak on behalf of the full Board when I say that we will miss their contribution to the Board function, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors."

Schedule 2 (g) disclosure

The following additional information is provided in accordance with Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies ("AIM Rules") in relation to the appointments of Rt Honourable Mark Simmonds and Tony Hawkins as Non-Executive Directors:

Mark Jonathan Mortlock Simmonds, aged 55

Current Directorships / Partnerships	Past Directorships / Partnerships (last 5 years)
Block Commodities Limited	Mortlock Simmonds Brown Leverett Limited
FinComEco Limited
GIG Limited
Mortlock Securities Limited
Mortlock Simmonds Limited
Mortlock Simmonds Brown Limited
Natur International Corp.

Anthony James Hawkins, aged 48

Current Directorships / Partnerships	Past Directorships / Partnerships (last 5 years)
Anthony Hawkins Consulting GmbH	n/a
Columbus Energy Resources plc
Great Holt Management Company Limited

Neither Mr Simmonds nor Mr Hawkins hold any interest over LEKOIL ordinary shares.

There is no further information to be disclosed pursuant to Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

For further information, please visit www.lekoil.com or contact:

LEKOIL Limited Ore Bajomo, Investor Relations	[phone]
Strand Hanson Limited (Financial & Nominated Adviser) James Spinney / Ritchie Balmer	[phone]
Mirabaud Securities Limited (Joint Broker) Peter Krens / Edward Haig-Thomas	[phone] / [phone]
Numis Securities Limited (Joint Broker) John Prior / Emily Morris	[phone]
Instinctif (Financial PR) Mark Garraway / Dinara Shikhametova / Sarah Hourahane	[phone] [e-mail]

 

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