PRESS RELEASE
2 November 2018
WENTWORTH RESOURCES PLC
("Wentworth" or the "Company")
Director Appointments
Wentworth, the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: WEN) and AIM (AIM: WEN) listed
independent, East Africa-focused oil & gas company, further to its announcement
on 22 August 2018, is pleased to announce that Ms. Katherine Roe, Mr. Tim
Bushell, and Mr. Iain McLaren, have been appointed as members of the Board of
Directors (the "Board") with immediate effect. These appointments follow the
successful completion of the Company's re-domicile to Jersey ("Re-Domicile"),
announced on 29 October 2018, as part of its restructuring process to better
align corporate and management structures with its shareholders and asset base
in Africa.
The Board believes that the appointment of these Directors will add significant
financial, technical and operational experience to the Board, providing a
stronger platform to execute on the strategic aspirations of the Company
following its Re-Domicile.
Ms. Katherine Roe - Chief Financial Officer
Katherine, Chief Financial Officer since 1 April 2018, was Vice President
Corporate Development & Investor Relations for the Company since 2014 and has
19 years of senior corporate and capital markets experience. Prior to joining
Wentworth, Katherine spent 11 years at Panmure Gordon & Co, having moved from
Morgan Stanley's investment banking division. She is currently an independent
Non-Executive Director of Faroe Petroleum plc, where she will take over the role
of Audit Chair in 2019.
Mr. Tim Bushell - Deputy Chairman and Independent Non-Executive Director
Tim is a qualified geologist with more than 30 years' experience in the oil and
gas industry. He has worked at British Gas, Ultramar, LASMO, and Paladin
Resources. Most recently Tim was Chief Executive Officer at Falkland Oil and Gas
Limited and Director/co-founder of Core Energy AS. He is currently serving as a
Non-Executive Director on the Board of Rockhopper Exploration PLC, Genel Energy
plc and Petro Matad Limited, and as a Director of Point Resources AS and Redrock
Energy Limited.
Mr. Iain McLaren - Independent Non-Executive Director
Iain has significant experience in the oil and gas sector with deep experience
as Audit committee chair. He is currently a Non-Executive Director and Chair of
the Audit Committee of Jadestone Energy Inc. and until May 2018 was Senior
Independent Director and Chair of the Audit Committee for Cairn Energy plc. He
is currently Chairman of F&C UK High Income Trust plc as well as a director of
three other investment companies. He is a past President of the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of Scotland and was a partner of KPMG for 28 years until
2008.
Bob McBean, Chairman, commented:
"We are delighted to welcome Katherine, Tim and Iain to the Board. They
collectively bring substantive technical, commercial and financial upstream E&P
experience, joining the Board at a pivotal moment, as the Company has completed
its Re-Domicile from Canada to Jersey.
"We have an ambitious domestic gas-led East African focused strategy to deliver
material shareholder value, organically from our core gas producing asset, Mnazi
Bay, and inorganically through an M&A led growth mandate. The new Board members
bring the requisite skills and expertise to contribute significantly to our
aspiration of becoming a mid-tier African focused E&P Company."
-Ends-
Enquiries: Bob McBean, rpm@wentworthresources.com
Wentworth Executive Chairman
Eskil Jersing,
Chief Executive eskil.jersing@wentworthresources.com
Officer +44 7717 847623
Katherine Roe, katherine.roe@wentworthresources.com
Chief Financial +44 7841 087 230
Officer
Stifel Nicolaus AIM Nominated +44 (0) 20 7710 7600
Europe Limited Adviser and Broker
(UK)
Callum Stewart
Ashton Clanfield
Simon Mensley
Peel Hunt LLP Broker (UK) +44 (0) 20 7418 8900
Richard Crichton
Ross Allister
Vigo Investor Relations +44 (0) 20 7930 0230
Adviser (UK)
Patrick d'Ancona
Chris McMahon
Notes
Katherine Louise Margiad Ward Roe (40), Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Roe holds the following directorships:
Current Directorships Past Directorships
Faroe Petroleum plc IDE Group Holdings plc
Roe Resources Limited
Timothy Paul Bushell (59), Deputy Chairman
Mr. Bushell, holds the following directorships:
Current Directorships Past Directorships
Petro Matad Limited Core Energy AS
Point Resources AS Desire Petroleum Limited
Redrock Energy Limited Falkland Oil and Gas Limited
Rockhopper Exploration plc FOGL Finance Limited
Red Kite Energy Limited
Iain Archibald McLaren (67) - Non-Executive Director
Mr. McLaren, holds the following directorships:
Current Directorships Past Directorships
Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon plc Afren plc
Ecofin Global Utilities Cairn Energy plc
Edinburgh Dragon Trust plc Scotbeef Limited
F&C UK High Income Trust plc
Infrastructure Trust plc
Jadestone Energy Inc
Mr. McLaren holds 100,000 ordinary shares in the Company.
Iain McLaren was formerly a director of Afren plc, a company formerly listed on
the London Stock Exchange. Afren plc was placed in administration within one
year of Mr. McLaren ceasing to be a director.
Save for the above, there is no further information required to be disclosed
under paragraph (g) of Schedule Two of the AIM Rules for Companies, with respect
to the appointment of Ms. Roe, Mr. Bushell, and Mr. McLaren.
About Wentworth Resources
Wentworth Resources is a publicly traded (OSE: WEN, AIM: WEN), independent oil &
gas company with natural gas production; exploration and appraisal
opportunities, all in the Rovuma Delta Basin of coastal southern Tanzania and
northern Mozambique.
Inside Information
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by Wentworth to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation
(EU) no. 596/2014 ("MAR"). On the publication of this announcement via a
Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now
considered to be in the public domain.
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements
This press release may contain certain forward-looking information. The words
"expect", "anticipate", believe", "estimate", "may", "will", "should", "intend",
"forecast", "plan", and similar expressions are used to identify forward looking
information.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on
management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made
in light of management's experience, current conditions and expected future
development in the areas in which Wentworth is currently active and other
factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Wentworth
undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking
statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise, unless required by applicable law.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
information. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to numerous
assumptions, risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the
predicted outcome will not occur, including some of which are beyond Wentworth's
control. These assumptions and risks include, but are not limited to: the risks
associated with the oil and gas industry in general such as operational risks in
exploration, development and production, delays or changes in plans with respect
to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures, the imprecision
of resource and reserve estimates, assumptions regarding the timing and costs
relating to production and development as well as the availability and price of
labour and equipment, volatility of and assumptions regarding commodity prices
and exchange rates, marketing and transportation risks, environmental risks,
competition, the ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external
sources and changes in applicable law. Additionally, there are economic,
political, social and other risks inherent in carrying on business in Tanzania
and Mozambique. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will
prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could vary or differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. See Wentworth's
Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2017,
available on Wentworth's website, for further description of the risks and
uncertainties associated with Wentworth's business.
Notice
Neither the Oslo Stock Exchange nor the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange
has reviewed this press release and neither accepts responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section
5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.