Directorate Change

RNS Number : 3608S

Hurricane Energy PLC

17 March 2016

 

Embargoed: 0700hrs 17 March 2016

Hurricane Energy plc

("Hurricane" or the "Company") 

Board Appointment

Hurricane Energy plc, the UK-based oil and gas company focused on hydrocarbon resources in naturally fractured basement reservoirs, is pleased to announce the appointment of Alistair Stobie as Chief Financial Officer and as a director of the Company with immediate effect.

Mr Stobie brings significant capital markets and oil and gas industry experience to the Company. He was previously Director of Finance at AIM-listed Zoltav Resources and Chief Financial Officer at Oando Exploration & Production. Prior to this, Mr Stobie founded both Volga Gas, where he was Chief Financial Officer and led its AIM-IPO to raise US$135 million, and Pan-Petroleum (now Panoro Energy), which acquired an interest in the multi-billion barrel oil in place Mengo-Kundji-Bindi licence in Congo-Brazzaville. During his career Mr Stobie has been actively involved in numerous corporate transactions, including M&A and the acquisition and disposal of licence interests.

Dr Robert Trice, Chief Executive of Hurricane Energy, commented: "I am delighted that we have attracted such a high calibre CFO with extensive capital markets experience and specific expertise in the commercial and financial aspects of the E&P sector as we progress our strategy to bring the Lancaster field into production."

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

Full name:	Alistair Milburn Macdonald Stobie
Age:	49
Current Directorships:	None
Previous Directorships / Partnerships in the last 5 years:	Zoltav Resources Inc
	AMMS Consulting Ltd
	ZRI Services UK Ltd
	CenGeo Holdings Ltd
	Royal Atlantic Energy Ltd
	Oando Exploration and Production
Other disclosures:	Mr Stobie was Founder and Managing Partner of Mint Capital ("MC"), a venture capital business focused on Russia, until his resignation in 2003. Following his resignation from MC he remained a director of one if its portfolio companies, ACOL S.A. LED ("ACOL"), until his resignation as a director of ACOL in January 2004. ACOL was placed into voluntary administration in February 2004 by its shareholders.

Ends

Contact Details:

Hurricane Energy plc	Dr Robert Trice Chief Executive Officer	[phone]	[e-mail] www.hurricaneenergy.com
Cenkos Securities plc	Derrick Lee Nick Tulloch Beth McKiernan	[phone]	[e-mail] [e-mail] [e-mail]
Media enquiries: Vigo Communications	Patrick d'Ancona Ben Simons	[phone] [phone]	[e-mail]

Notes for Editors:

Hurricane is an oil and gas company focused on hydrocarbon resources in naturally fractured basement reservoirs. The Company's focus is to discover, appraise and develop oil reserves in basement rock and has successfully found oil on the UKCS. The Company has 444-470 Mmboe of 2C Contingent Resources and 432-442 Mmboe P50 Prospective Resources on acreage it controls 100% under licences P1368, P1485 and P1835.

The Group completed an IPO on the AIM market on 4 February 2014.

Strategy and Focus

The Group's primary objective is to increase shareholder value through the exploration, appraisal and development of fractured basement reservoirs. The Directors' strategy to achieve this is as follows:

1) Concentrate on basement in proven petroleum systems

To date, the Group's basement exploration approach has been to focus on areas where oil had been found in basement structures by previous operators but not progressed on the basis that the prevailing opinion at the time was that such discoveries were not commercial. Once such potential areas have been identified, the Group undertakes a high grading process involving the evaluation of existing geotechnical data to establish if, and where, suitable prospects may be present.

The Directors believe this approach serves to reduce exploration risk on basement prospects by ensuring a working hydrocarbon system is present and by having available a comprehensive geotechnical database (both seismic and well data).

2) Regional focus on West of Shetland

Hurricane has established an attractive portfolio of exploration and appraisal projects, focused on fractured basement prospectivity West of Shetland. The Directors believe that the potential scale of the recoverable resource within these fractured basement reservoirs presents the UK oil and gas industry with a significant opportunity to access a material new strategic asset.

3) Ownership and operatorship during exploration and early stage appraisal

Hurricane has maintained 100% ownership and operatorship of all of its assets to date. The Directors believe that this puts the Company in a strong position to invite other industry participants to participate in the assets and share costs, in preparation for field development that will lead to producing assets.

4) Maintain an influential equity position

As Hurricane progresses the Group's assets towards development it intends to seek potential partners through a farm-out or other process to assist in future development and implementation of the FDP whilst maintaining an influential equity position.

5) Opportunities to acquire exploration licences in existing and new regions

Hurricane intends to participate in applications for new licence areas where the Group will be able to apply its technical expertise in basement reservoir evaluation to create value for its shareholders. The Directors believe that the Group's skill set and its track record to date leave it well positioned to secure further licences in countries with low geopolitical risk.

 

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