Erin Energy Corporation (Erin Energy or the Company) (NYSE MKT:ERN)
announced today changes within its management structure. The changes are
in response to recent drilling and production successes, and to support
the Company’s growth strategy.
Segun Omidele, Senior Vice President, Exploration and Production,
has been appointed Chief Operating Officer effective immediately. Mr.
Omidele has been with Erin Energy since 2011 and recently led the
Company’s technical team in its successful deepwater drilling and
completion campaign of the Oyo-7 and Oyo-8 wells, offshore Nigeria.
These successes make Erin Energy one of only two independent exploration
and production companies to successfully operate, drill, complete and
produce oil and gas in deepwater, West Africa. Mr. Omidele has over 35
years of experience in the oil and gas industry, including 28 years with
Shell Oil companies in Nigeria, the U.K. and the U.S.
Daniel Ogbonna has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer (SVP and CFO). Mr. Ogbonna was previously with CAMAC
International Corporation (CI), where he has served as Executive Vice
President and Chief Strategy Officer since 2010 and led CI’s business
development and M&A activities. At CI, Mr. Ogbonna was responsible for
strategic planning, financial forecasting, acquisition analysis, and
securing funding for CI and its subsidiaries’ projects. Mr. Ogbonna has
extensive experience working with financial institutions and brings an
acute understanding of Erin Energy’s business, the countries in which
the Company operates, and the business climate in Africa.
Prior to his role at CI, Mr. Ogbonna held roles at Limited Brands,
Deloitte Consulting, and JP Morgan Securities. Mr. Ogbonna holds an MBA
from Harvard Business School and a MS in Mechanical Engineering from the
University of Michigan.
Christopher Hearne has resigned as SVP and CFO effective
September 9, 2015. Mr. Hearne has agreed to work with Erin Energy as a
consultant to assist with the transition period.
Chris du Toit has been named Vice President, Corporate Finance
and Country Manager for South Africa. Mr. du Toit has been with the
Company since 2014 and has successfully led corporate finance efforts in
Africa following Erin Energy’s listing on the Johannesburg Stock
Exchange last year. Mr. du Toit will be responsible for the Company’s
corporate finance efforts in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Mr. du
Toit has over 10 years of investment banking experience in mergers,
acquisitions, divestitures, capital-raising, and corporate advisory in
the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining Erin Energy, he was Vice
President in Macquarie Capital’s resources team and was responsible for
oil and gas advisory and equity capital markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Christopher Heath has been named Vice President, Corporate
Finance. Mr. Heath has been with the Company since 2013 and has served
in corporate finance and investor relations roles and will now be
responsible for Erin Energy’s corporate finance efforts in North
America. Mr. Heath has 10 years of corporate finance experience,
including merger and acquisition transactions, 7 years of investment
banking experience in the oil and gas industry, and has advised on
numerous capital markets transactions. Prior to joining Erin Energy, he
was Assistant Vice President of Finance at Magnum Hunter Resources where
he led investor relations for their 40 drilling partnerships.
Kase Lawal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Segun’s
leadership and knowledge of the business and region have proved
exceptionally valuable to our company and I am very pleased he will now
serve us as Chief Operating Officer.” Lawal added, “We wish Chris
all of the best in his future pursuits and we are excited to have Daniel
join as CFO. Daniel’s experience and familiarity with our business and
the continent of Africa, along with his track record and capital markets
experience, will be a valuable addition to our team. With his leadership
and a strong finance team in place, we are well positioned to continue
Erin Energy’s growth.”
Erin Energy Corporation is an independent oil and gas exploration
and production company focused on energy resources in Sub-Saharan
Africa. Its asset portfolio consists of 9 licenses across 4 countries
covering an area of 43,000 square kilometres (10 million acres),
including current production and other exploration projects offshore
Nigeria, as well as exploration licenses offshore Ghana, Kenya and The
Gambia, and onshore Kenya. Erin Energy is headquartered in Houston,
Texas, and is listed on the New York and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges
under the ticker symbol ERN. More information about Erin Energy can be
found at www.erinenergy.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than
statements of historical fact, concerning activities, events or
developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or
may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Although
the Company believes the expectations reflected in these forward-looking
statements are reasonable, they involve assumptions, risks and
uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect.
The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those
anticipated or implied in these forward-looking statements due to a
variety of factors, including the Company’s ability to successfully
finance, drill, produce and/or develop the wells and prospects
identified in this release, and risks and other risk factors discussed
in the Company’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in
their entirety by this cautionary statement. You should not place
undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of
their respective dates. The Company undertakes no duty to update these
forward-looking statements.
Source: Erin Energy Corporation
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