Directorate change, receipt of bids for drilling rig and services tender, and update on farmout process
Appointment of Tim Bushell as Non-Executive Director
Petro Matad (AIM: MATD) is pleased to announce the appointment of Tim Bushell as a Non-Executive Director of the Company, effective today.
Mr. Bushell has worked in the oil and gas industry for 35 years and brings a wealth of experience to the Petro Matad Board. His background in frontier exploration perfectly fits the Company's requirements at this stage of its life cycle. In addition to working on the front-line of exploration for various companies, Mr. Bushell until recently was CEO for Falkland Oil and Gas Limited where he was instrumental in the discovery of major oil fields. He currently is a Non-Executive Director of Point Resources AS, and a Board Member and Executive Advisor for Rockhopper Exploration PLC. In addition, Mr. Bushell provides advice to Hitec Vision, a Norwegian private equity firm.
Mr. Bushell earned a B.Sc. Geology degree from the University of Liverpool, and a M.Sc. Applied Sedimentology degree from the University of Reading. Mr. Bushell is UK based and it is intended that he will be appointed to certain Board Committees, the specifics of which are under discussion.
Retirement of Phil Vingoe as Non-Executive Director
Effective today, Dr. Phil Vingoe will retire from the Petro Matad Board. Dr. Vingoe has served the Board with enormous energy, dedication and expertise for the past five years and for personal reasons has elected to retire.
Receipt of bids for drilling rig and services tender
The Company is pleased to announce that on 3 March 2017, it received three bids from pre-qualified vendors for its drilling rig and services tender. Petro Matad has commenced evaluation of the bids and expects to announce the successful bidder later this month. The Company remains on-track for the commencement of drilling in July.
Farmout Process
The Company is encouraged with progress to date, and has received several offers and requests for exclusivity. The evaluation of these offers is in progress but no decision has yet been made.
Due to the high level of interest shown from numerous existing and new interested parties who have yet to complete their studies and internal processes prior to making an offer, the Company has decided that it is in the best interest of the Company to further extend the bid deadline until May 2017. This will ensure the best possible deal outcome(s) to fully explore the Company's acreage in 2017 and 2018. The Company's clear strategy is to commit early and extend the drilling programme to the end of 2018, thereby significantly increasing the chance of material exploration success. The Company will update the market on the current offers once they are formalised and an agreement is completed.
Enkhmaa Davaanyam, Chairperson of Petro Matad, said: "I am delighted to welcome Tim Bushell to the Board of Petro Matad. He brings a wealth of relevant experience to the Company which will be very useful as Petro Matad navigates through the exciting times ahead. On behalf of Petro Matad's Board of Directors and employees I want to thank Dr. Vingoe for his outstanding contribution to the Company and wish him a happy retirement. On the operational front, we are very encouraged by the level of interest shown in the farmout process and finally, the receipt of bids for the drilling rig and services tender marks another milestone for the Company and represents the next step towards commencing a drilling programme in mid-2017."
Enquiries:
Petro Matad Limited
