Appointment of Non-Executive Directors

RNS Number : 0621N

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd.

03 September 2013

 



Not for release, publication or distribution in or into the United States or jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom and Bermuda where to do so would constitute a contravention of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction.

3 September 2013

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (AIM: GKP)

("Gulf Keystone" or "the Company")

Directorate change - appointment of Non-Executive Directors

Gulf Keystone is pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Henry Simon O.B.E. to the Board of Gulf Keystone (the "Board") as a Non-Executive Director with immediate effect.

In addition, as approved by shareholders at the Company's Annual General Meeting, held on 25 July 2013, and following the completion of the AIM mandated due diligence process, the Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Messrs Jeremy Benjamin Gerald Asher, Thomas Counter Shull, John Bell and Philip Anthony Dimmock, to the Board as Non-Executive Directors, also with immediate effect.

Curriculum Vitae for each of these directors are available on the Company's website and the information to be disclosed pursuant to Rule 17 and Schedule 2 paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies is set out below.

Mr Simon has extensive public company experience, having served on the boards of some of the UK's leading companies and is ideally placed to assist the Company as it seeks to move from AIM to the Standard Segment of the Official List later this year.

Mr Simon spent 23 years with the Evode Group Plc, including 2 years as the corporate planning director and 21 years as the Managing Director and Chairman.  He holds an MBA from Wharton School of Finance in Philadelphia and has a diversified range of non-executive director and chairman positions.  He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Travis Perkins Plc, a FTSE100 company where he is Chairman of the Remuneration and Health & Safety committees and a Non-Executive Director of Management Consulting Group Plc, where he is Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk and the Nominations Committees. 

In addition, Mr Simon has previously been Deputy Chairman of Dalkia Plc, and has also held non-executive directorships with Severn Trent Plc, Ibstock Plc, Laporte Plc, Associated British Ports Holdings Plc and Brake Bros Holdings Ltd. 

The Company is continuing its previously announced search process, with the assistance of Odgers Berndtson, one of the UK's pre-eminent executive search firms, for at least one other independent non-executive director, and a further announcement on that process will be made in due course.

The Board is pleased to announce that Lord Guthrie, the Company's Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Nominations Committee, has been appointed Deputy Chairman.

Commenting on today's announcement, Simon Murray, Independent Non-Executive Chairman, said:

"We are pleased to welcome our five new Non-Executive Directors to the Board.

We are firmly focused on completing the move from AIM to the Standard Segment of the Official List before the year end. I have great confidence in the ability of this enlarged, balanced and united Board to complete this move and to continue developing the Company in the interests of all our shareholders.  Under the guidance of Lord Guthrie, Deputy Chairman of the Company and Chairman of the Nominations Committee, we look forward to appointing one additional Non-Executive Director in due course."

Pursuant to Rule 17 and Schedule 2 paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies, the following information in respect of each of the Non-Executive Directors is disclosed:

Andrew Henry Simon O.B.E., aged 68, is or has been a director or member of the following companies or partnerships during the previous five years:

Current directorships	Past directorships within the last 5 years
Travis Perkins PLC	Dalkia plc
Finning International Inc., Vancouver	Icon Infrastructure LLP
Management Consulting Group plc
SGL Carbon SE, Wiesbaden
Exova Group plc
Icon Infrastructure Management Ltd
Hildegard Simon Memorial Trust Limited
BCA Osprey I Limited
Kurt Salmon Associes France
Simon Consultancy Ltd

Jeremy Benjamin Gerald Asher, aged 55, is or has been a director or member of the following companies or partnerships during the previous five years:

Current directorships	Past directorships within the last 5 years
Tower Resources Plc	Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd
Tower Resources (Namibia) Limited	Process Systems Enterprise Ltd
Pacific Drilling SA	Better Place LLC
Agile Energy Limited	Better Place Danmark AS
Better Place BV	Ingenious Film Partners LLP
Inside Track 2 LLP	Ingenious Film Partners 2 LLP
SCI Rus in Urbis

Mr Asher currently holds directly 15,200,000 common shares of USD 0.01 in the Company, representing approximately 1.71 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital.

Thomas Counter Shull, aged 62, is or has been a director or member of the following companies or partnerships during the previous five years:

Current directorships	Past directorships within the last 5 years
Army & Air Force Exchange Service	Meridian Ventures LLC
	Zale Corporation

Philip Anthony Dimmock, aged 66, is or has been a director or member of the following companies or partnerships during the previous five years:

Current directorships	Past directorships within the last 5 years
Georgian Energy Ltd	Nautical Petroleum PLC
Africa Oil Exploration Ltd	Equator Exploration Limited
	GX Petroleum Limited

John Bell, aged 47, is or has been a director or member of the following companies or partnerships during the previous five years:

Current directorships	Past directorships within the last 5 years
Babylon Petroleum Ltd	Petro Canada NANE New Ventures B.V.
Amira KPO Limited	Petro Canada Palmyra B.V.
Amira KPO Middle East Limited
Easiwash UK Limited

There is no further information to be disclosed pursuant to Rule 17 and Schedule 2 paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

Enquiries:

Gulf Keystone Petroleum:	[phone]
Simon Murray, Non-Executive Chairman
Anastasia Vvedenskaya, Investor Relations
Strand Hanson Limited	[phone]
Stuart Faulkner / Rory Murphy / James Harris
Mirabaud Securities LLP	[phone]
Peter Krens
Pelham Bell Pottinger	[phone]
Mark Antelme / Henry Lerwill

or visit: http://www.gulfkeystone.com

Notes to Editors:

·           Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (AIM: GKP) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused on exploration in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

·           Gulf Keystone Petroleum International (GKPI) holds Production Sharing Contracts for four exploration blocks in Kurdistan, including the Shaikan, Sheikh Adi, Ber Bahr and Akri-Bijeel blocks.

·           GKPI is the Operator of the Shaikan Block, which is a major commercial discovery, with a working interest of 75% and is partnered with Kalegran Ltd. (a 100% subsidiary of MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas plc.) and Texas Keystone Inc., which have working interests of 20% and 5% respectively.  Texas Keystone Inc. holds its interest in trust for Gulf Keystone, pending transfer of its interest to the Company.

·           Gulf Keystone is moving into the large-scale phased development of the Shaikan field targeting 150,000 barrels of oil per day of production within three years, following the approval of the Shaikan Field Development Plan, announced on 26 June 2013.

Disclaimer

Not for release, publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom and Bermuda where to do so would constitute a contravention of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction.  This announcement (and the information contained herein) does not contain or constitute an offer of securities for sale, or solicitation of an offer to purchase securities, in the United States or jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom and Bermuda where to do so would constitute a contravention of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless the securities are registered under the Securities Act, or an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act is available.  No public offering of the securities will be made in the United States.

 

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