Appointment of Non-Executive Chairman

RNS Number : 6888L

Hurricane Energy PLC

23 April 2018

 

23 April 2018

Hurricane Energy plc

("Hurricane" or the "Company")

Appointment of Non-Executive Chairman

Hurricane Energy plc, the UK based oil and gas company focused on hydrocarbon resources in naturally fractured basement reservoirs, announces the appointment of Mr Steven McTiernan as Non-Executive Chairman of the board of directors of Hurricane (the "Board"), effective 1 May 2018. Dr David Jenkins, who has acted as Interim Chairman of the Board since November 2017, will return to his previous role as Senior Independent Director on this date.

Mr Steven McTiernan has over forty-five years of oil and gas industry and investment banking experience. He was a non-executive director of Tullow Oil plc for eleven years until December 2012, during its period of rapid growth, and served as its Senior Independent Director. He is currently Chairman of Kenmare Resources, a mining company listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (Premium segment), where he has been on the board since 2013. He was an independent director at First Quantum Minerals Ltd until June 2012, and an independent director at Songa Offshore SE until January 2014. His oil and gas industry experience includes roles at Iraq Petroleum, Amoco, BP and Mesa, and his banking experience includes senior roles leading energy teams at the Chase Manhattan Bank, NatWest Markets and CIBC. He holds an MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge.

Dr Robert Trice, Chief Executive of Hurricane Energy, commented:

"I am delighted to welcome Steven to the Board of Hurricane as Non-Executive Chairman. This is an extremely important time for the Company as we progress towards first oil on Lancaster in H1 2019. As the Company continues to grow, and considers the best way to create further value for its stakeholders, Steven's experience will prove invaluable. His background in both the oil industry and finance, particularly his significant M&A experience, is well suited to guiding the Company in its next steps beyond the commencement of the EPS. I'd also like to thank David for assuming the Interim Chairman role and leading the Board over recent months."

Dr David Jenkins, Non-Executive Director of Hurricane Energy, commented:

"It is a great pleasure to welcome a Chairman of Mr McTiernan's calibre to Hurricane and I look forward to working with him as we transition to the next phase of the Company's development."

Mr Steven McTiernan commented:

"I am most enthusiastic to be joining Hurricane, one of the UK E&P sector's most exciting junior companies, at an early stage in the development and appraisal of its unique and play-opening assets. The potential scale and productivity of Hurricane's opportunity is highly significant. I believe that my diverse technical, financing and transaction experiences can be valuable in helping shape the future progress of the Company. I am also reassured to see the steps already taken by Dr David Jenkins and the Board to put in place corporate governance standards appropriate for a more mature company, and I look forward to steering further steps in this process as the Board considers the merits of application for a premium listing."

The information required to be disclosed in relation to Mr McTiernan in accordance with the AIM Rules for Companies ("AIM Rules") is as outlined below:

Full name:	Mr Steven James McTiernan
Age:	67
Current Directorships:	Kenmare Resources plc (Chairman)
Previous Directorships / Partnerships in the last 5 years:	·    Tullow Oil plc ·    First Quantum Minerals Ltd ·    Songa Offshore SE ·    Sandown Energy Consultants Limited

Save for the information disclosed above, there are no further disclosures to be made in accordance with Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules in respect of the appointment of Mr McTiernan.

Contacts: 

Hurricane Energy plc	Dr Robert Trice (Chief Executive Officer)/Alistair Stobie (Chief Financial Officer)	[phone]
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited	Nominated Adviser and Corporate Broker Callum Stewart/Nicholas Rhodes/Ashton Clanfield	[phone]
Vigo Communications	Public Relations Patrick d'Ancona/Ben Simons	[phone] [e-mail]

About Hurricane

Hurricane was established to discover, appraise and develop hydrocarbon resources associated with naturally fractured basement reservoirs.

Hurricane's acreage is concentrated on the Rona Ridge, West of Shetland. The Lancaster field, the Company's most appraised asset, has combined 2P Reserves and 2C Contingent Resources of 523 million stock tank barrels of oil. The Company is currently proceeding towards the first phase of development of Lancaster, an Early Production System, with first oil targeted for H1 2019.

During the 2016-2017 drilling campaign, the Company made two significant discoveries* at Halifax and Lincoln. Together, these discoveries* have 2C Contingent Resources of 1,839 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Hurricane's other assets include Warwick, which has best case Prospective Resources of 935 million stock tank barrels of oil, Whirlwind, which has 2C Contingent Resources of 205 million barrels of oil equivalent (under the Whirlwind oil case) and Strathmore, which has 2C Contingent Resources of 32 million stock tank barrels of oil. Together, this brings Hurricane's total combined 2P Reserves and 2C Contingent Resources to 2.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

*Discovery - This classification is consistent with SPE/AAPG/WPC and SPEE guidelines for Petroleum Resource Management - Determination of Discovery Status

Inside Information

This announcement contains inside information as stipulated under the market abuse regulation (EU no. 596/2014). Upon the publication of this announcement via regulatory information service this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

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