Board Changes and Corporate Update

Jadestone Energy PLC

05 December 2024

 

Board Changes and Corporate Update

5 December 2024 - Singapore: Jadestone Energy plc (AIM:JSE) (the "Company" and together with its subsidiaries, "Jadestone" or the "Group"), an independent upstream production company focused on the Asia-Pacific region, announces a corporate update and changes to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board"), which are effective immediately.

·    The Akatara project has achieved sustained gas sales at contractual rates of c.20 MMscf/d (the "Daily Contract Quantity", or DCQ), with overall Akatara production benefitting from associated condensate and LPG streams.

·    Group production has recently achieved record levels in excess of 25,000 boe/d when gas sales from Akatara are at DCQ.

·    A. Paul Blakeley has elected to step down as Executive Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. 

·     Dr Adel Chaouch, currently Non-Executive Chairman of the Company, has been appointed Executive Chairman. 

·    Joanne Williams, currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer.

·    Linda Beal, currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company, has been appointed as Senior Independent Non-Executive Director.

Biographical details for Adel Chaouch, Joanne Williams and Linda Beal are available in an appendix to this announcement.

Adel Chaouch, Executive Chairman of Jadestone, commented:

"On behalf of the Board and Jadestone's employees, I would like to thank Paul for his dedicated service and leadership since 2016 as he steps down from the role of Chief Executive Officer. He was instrumental in taking a business that had no production to one that is now producing from seven assets across four different countries, establishing a strong and diversified upstream platform. The latest achievement is the Akatara project, where we are now seeing gas sales sustained at contractual rates, driving overall Group production to record levels above 25,000 boe/d. In order to capitalise on these achievements, and as Jadestone enters the next phase in its development, it is an appropriate time for a new management structure to position Jadestone for future success. We wish Paul the best in his future endeavours.

A priority for the new management team will be ensuring operational excellence across the portfolio. At Akatara, we will focus on delivering high uptime to consistently meet the gas buyer's nominations and benefit from the valuable associated condensate and LPG streams. Montara continues to perform well, with high uptime levels and increasing FPSO tank capacity. As we look to build on this positive momentum, I thank Joanne Williams for taking on greater responsibility in this area as Chief Operating Officer.

As we have previously communicated, in the near-term we will build balance sheet strength following a period of significant investment, and continue to focus on financial discipline. We will do this through the increase in cash flows from Akatara, coupled with reductions in operating costs and overheads. A stronger balance sheet will facilitate the next phase of growth for Jadestone, and allow for a resumption of shareholder returns, which remains a priority for the Board. Capital will be allocated efficiently by investing in projects and acquisitions that deliver the greatest value; we will continue to play to our core strengths of establishing material operated positions in existing upstream assets and creating value through efficient operations and selective reinvestment.

We will look to communicate our progress clearly, setting targets and delivering on them. This is essential to delivering a share price which reflects the fundamental value of Jadestone and its assets. With a refreshed management team and the unwavering support of our largest shareholder, we will, over time, build on the existing platform and establish Jadestone as the industry leading regional independent in Asia-Pacific."

Corporate Update

The Group's producing assets continue to perform in line with expectations, benefitting from the growth and diversification initiatives of recent years. 2024 will be a record year for Group production, with guidance unchanged from the operational update released on 11 November 2024, supported by recent Group production rates in excess of 25,000 boe/d when Akatara has been delivering gas sales at DCQ.

At Montara, there has been continued good performance due to the significant focus on facility uptime and initiatives to optimise production rates. The oil storage capacity of the Montara Venture FPSO is currently c.375kbbls and is expected to increase further in early 2025 as a result of rolling tank maintenance activity. Planning for the Skua-11 re-drill, which is likely to be the principal activity in the Group's investment programme in 2025, is progressing well, with drilling expected to commence in the first quarter of 2025, subject to arrival of the rig on schedule.

Production also continues to run ahead of expectations at the CWLH asset and the Sinphuhorm field, with the latter recently benefitting from strong gas demand in northern Thailand.

The scheduled October 2024 redetermination of the Group's reserve-based lending facility has been successfully completed, resulting in an unchanged borrowing capacity of US$200 million for the period ending March 2025.

Award and Vesting of Restricted Shares

In connection with his appointment as Executive Chairman, the Company proposes to make an award of 940,000 Restricted Shares to Adel Chaouch shortly.

It is also proposed that Andrew Fairclough, who was appointed as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of the Company on 29 October 2024, will be awarded 302,000 Restricted Shares.

The Restricted Share awards referenced above have a three year vesting period and the Company will issue a further announcement when they have been made.

Furthermore, a total of 43,655 Restricted Share awards (the "Vested RS Awards") have also vested.

Total Voting Rights

Following admission of the Vested RS Awards, the Company will have 541,110,799 Ordinary Shares of £0.001 par value each in issue, and no Ordinary Shares in treasury. Therefore, the total voting rights in the Company will be 541,110,799.

This figure should be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

-ends-

For further information, please contact:

Jadestone Energy plc
Dr. Adel Chaouch, Executive Chairman
Andrew Fairclough, CFO	[e-mail]
Phil Corbett, Head of Investor Relations	[phone] (UK)
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Nomad, Joint Broker)	[phone] (UK)
Callum Stewart
Jason Grossman
Ashton Clanfield
Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Broker)	[phone] (UK)
Richard Crichton
David McKeown
Georgia Langoulant
Camarco (Public Relations Advisor)	[phone] (UK)
Billy Clegg	[e-mail]
Georgia Edmonds
Elfie Kent

About Jadestone Energy

Jadestone Energy plc is an independent upstream company focused on the Asia-Pacific region. It has a balanced and increasingly diversified portfolio of production and development assets in Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, all stable jurisdictions with a positive upstream investment climate.

The Company is pursuing a strategy to grow and diversify the Company's production base both organically, through developments such as at Akatara in Indonesia, Nam Du/U Minh in Vietnam and the PNLP Cluster offshore Malaysia, as well as through acquisitions that fit within Jadestone's financial framework and play to the Company's strengths in managing maturing oil assets. Jadestone delivers value in its acquisition strategy by enhancing returns through operating efficiencies, cost reductions and increased production through further investment.

Jadestone is a responsible operator and well positioned for the energy transition through its increasing gas production, by maximising recovery from existing brownfield developments and through its Net Zero pledge on Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions from operated assets by 2040. This strategy is aligned with the IEA Net Zero by 2050 scenario, which stresses the necessity of continued investment in existing upstream assets to avoid an energy crisis and meet demand for oil and gas through the energy transition.

Jadestone Energy plc (LEI: 21380076GWJ8XDYKVQ37) is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: JSE).  The Company is headquartered in Singapore.  For further information on the Company please visit www.jadestone-energy.com.

The information contained within this announcement is considered to be inside information prior to its release, as defined in Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation No. 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

Director Biographies

Dr Adel Chaouch

Dr Chaouch has 30 years of international experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

Prior to Jadestone, he was President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of ShaMaran Petroleum, a Lundin Group company with interests in the world-class Atrush and Sarsang producing fields in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Dr Chaouch also had a long and distinguished career at Marathon Oil Company ("Marathon"). He headed Marathon's interests in the MENA region, presiding over its business in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and overseeing several oil and significant gas discoveries and commercialisation of oil production.

Dr Chaouch was instrumental in the creation of a gas hub in Equatorial Guinea, aggregating natural gas from adjacent fields into Marathon's gas processing facilities on Bioko Island, and leading the team that successfully re-entered Gabon through operated and non-operated interests in deep water exploration in the Gulf of Guinea. Additionally, he was key to the re-entry of Marathon in South East Asia after a decade of absence. Dr Chaouch was also previously the director of ESG for Marathon's worldwide activities. 

Prior to working for Marathon, he held technical and managerial positions of increasing responsibilities with research, consulting and EPC companies.  He worked as division manager with Raytheon E&C Company on major projects, mostly in the oil and gas sector. 

Dr Chaouch completed his undergraduate preparatory studies in Mathematics and Physics at Saint-Louis College, Paris, France in 1990, prior to simultaneously earning his Master's Degree in Engineering from Texas A&M University and an Engineering Degree from the E.S.T.P., Paris, in 1991. He also earned a Ph.D. in Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1994 with an emphasis on deep water offshore structures.

Dr Chaouch is a member of the American Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is also a board director of the Bilateral chamber of Commerce, and was previously director of the board of Ophir Energy plc. He has served on the boards and executive committees of various international organizations, including the World Bank's Global Flaring Reduction Initiative, the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association, and UNICEF.

Joanne Williams

Joanne Williams is a reservoir engineer with more than 25 years' experience in technical and executive roles with Woodside Petroleum, Newfield Exploration, Gulf Canada, Clyde Petroleum, Nido Petroleum and Blue Star Helium.

Currently, Joanne is a Non-Executive Director of Buru Energy Limited, an Australian onshore explorer for oil, gas and natural hydrogen; a Non-Executive Director of 88 Energy Limited, an oil company with oil exploration and production assets in Alaska, Texas and Namibia, and a Non-Executive Director of Pinnacle Exploration Pte Ltd, which focusses on shallow water Gulf of Mexico oil opportunities.

Previously, Joanne was Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Star Helium Limited, an explorer for helium in the USA and a Director at Sacgasco Limited with oil and gas exploration and production assets in California, Canada and the Philippines.

Linda Beal

Linda Beal has over 30 years of experience advising the upstream sector and since 2018 has been a board director of several UK AIM listed exploration and production ("E&P") companies. She brings corporate governance and financial expertise and experience to her role as Jadestone's Audit Committee Chair.

Linda joined Grant Thornton in 2013 as a Tax Partner, where she was Global Leader for Energy and Natural Resources with a mandate to build Grant Thornton's global energy and natural resources capability. Previously, Linda spent 30 years at PwC and its legacy firm Price Waterhouse in Audit and Tax, 16 of them as a Partner. With PwC's Natural Resources Independents business she focused on advising international E&P clients across the AIM, FTSE350, overseas listed and private sectors.

Linda graduated in 1982 from the University of Nottingham with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics, thereafter qualifying at Price Waterhouse as a Chartered Accountant and was admitted to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales in 1986.

 

END