Independent Oil & Gas PLC Appointment of Independent Non-Executive Director (0556A)

TIDMIOG

RNS Number : 0556A

Independent Oil & Gas PLC

24 May 2019

24 May 2019

Independent Oil & Gas plc

Appointment of Independent Non-Executive Director

Independent Oil and Gas plc ("IOG" or the "Company"), the development and production company focused on becoming a substantial UK gas producer, is pleased to announce the appointment of Neil Hawkings as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company, following an external search process.

Neil has over 35 years' experience in the upstream oil and gas sector and has held various senior management positions at ConocoPhillips ("Conoco") and Premier Oil Plc. During his time at Conoco, Neil was Managing Director at Britannia Operator Limited ("BOL"), where he led operations at the Britannia gas condensate field; the UK's second largest gas producing field. Prior to BOL, Neil also played key roles in the successful development of Conoco's Southern North Sea business and the greenfield development of gas reserves at Conoco's West Natuna project in Indonesia.

More recently, Neil served as Operations Director at Premier Oil Plc where he was responsible for operational and development activities across their global portfolio. In 2013, he became the Director for South East Asia and the Falkland Islands, which includes the Chim Sao producing oil field in Vietnam, the Natuna Sea gas fields in Indonesia and the Sea Lion Development project in the Falklands. He holds a Master's Degree in Chemical Engineering from Cambridge University.

Mr. Hawkings will serve on the Company's HSE and Technical Committee of the Board.

Fiona MacAulay, Independent Non-Executive Chair of IOG, commented:

"I am delighted to welcome Neil to the IOG Board. He joins the Company at an important and exciting time and we firmly believe that his long track record and well established technical and commercial expertise will be hugely helpful as we continue to make positive progress at our core SNS project and look forward to the Harvey appraisal well due to spud in July."

The following new Options have been granted to Neil Hawkings as Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company:

 
      Name        Position     Number      Exercise      Vesting                 Total Options 
                               of New        Price        Period     Exercise    Held Following 
                               Options    per Ordinary                Period       This Grant 
                               Granted       Share 
                                            (pence) 
 Neil Hawkings       NED      600,000        13.5p       3 years    10 years        600,000 
                 ----------  ---------  --------------  --------  -----------  ---------------- 
 

Grant of Share Options to Incentivise Long Term Performance

The Company has today granted options over 600,000 ordinary shares in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") to Mr Neil Hawkings at an exercise price payable of 13.5 pence per Ordinary Share (the "Options"), being the middle market closing price on 23 May 2019, the latest practicable date prior to this announcement. These option awards have been issued under the Company Share Option Plan ('CSOP').

The new Options are intended to reward long term performance and all vest after three years from date of grant and are subject to the satisfaction of certain performance conditions including Sanction of Phase 1 of the Southern North Sea Development Project; the 30 day volume weighted average price per ordinary share in the capital of the Company being not less than 25p at the time of vesting and certain health and safety targets having been met. Subject to vesting and such performance conditions being met, the new Options are exercisable for up to ten years from the date of grant and will lapse if not exercised by such date.

The following information is disclosed pursuant to Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies:

Neil Hawkings

Neil Hawkings (aged 58 years) has been a director of the following companies during the five years preceding the date of this announcement: -

Current Directorships

Neil Hawkings Limited

Previous Directorships

Premier Oil and Gas Services Limited

Premier Oil (Encore Petroleum) Limited

Premier Oil Investments Limited

Encore Oil Limited

Encore (NNS) Limited

Premier Oil Aberdeen Services Limited

Premier Oil Holdings Limited

Premier Oil Andaman Limited

Premier Oil B Limited

Premier Oil Mexico Holdings Limited

Premier Oil Vietnam 121 Limited

Premier Oil Bukit Barat Limited

Premier Oil West Tuna Limited

Premier Oil Exploration and Production (Iraq) Limited

Premier Oil CCS Limited

Premier Oil Exploration and Production Limited

Premier Oil Exploration Limited

Premier Oil Plc

Premier Oil UK Limited

Premier Oil Group Limited

Encore Oil and Gas Limited

Premier Oil Exploration ONS Limited

Premier Oil (Encore Exploration UK) Limited

Encore (VOG) Limited

Premier Oil ONS Limited

Encore North Sea Limited

Encore CCS Limited

Encore Gas Storage Limited

Encore Natural Resources Limited

There is no further information to be disclosed pursuant to Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

Certain information communicated in this announcement was, prior to its publication, inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014.

Enquiries:

   Independent Oil and Gas plc                                                    [phone] 

Andrew Hockey (CEO)

James Chance (CFO)

Rupert Newall (Head of Corporate Finance)

finnCap Ltd [phone]

Christopher Raggett, Anthony Adams (Corporate Finance)

Camille Gochez (Corporate Broking)

Peel Hunt LLP [phone]

Richard Crichton

David McKeown

Vigo Communications [phone]

Patrick d'Ancona

Chris McMahon

Simon Woods

About Independent Oil and Gas:

IOG owns substantial low risk, high value gas reserves in the UK Southern North Sea. The Company is targeting a 2P peak production rate of 146 MMCF/d (c. 25,000 Boe/d) from its substantial Core Project (2P gas Reserves of 302 BCF(2) + 2C gas Contingent Resources of 108 BCF(3)) via an efficient hub strategy. In addition to the independently verified 2P reserves at Blythe, Elgood, Southwark, Nailsworth and Elland and 2C Contingent Resources at Goddard, IOG also has independently verified best estimate unrisked prospective gas resources of 202 BCF(1),(2) in Harvey and Goddard. Alongside this IOG continues to pursue value accretive acquisitions to generate significant shareholder returns. All IOG's licences and the Thames Pipeline are owned 100% and operated by IOG.

(1)Updated management estimates based on interpretation and mapping of 3D seismic data reprocessed to Pre-Stack Depth Migration (PSDM) in 2018, subsequent to ERC Equipoise's 2017 Competent Persons Report

(2)ERC Equipoise Competent Persons Report: October 2017, adjusted by Management to account for updated project timing and compression

(3)ERC Equipoise Competent Persons Report: October 2018

Notes:

Person Discharging Managerial Responsibilities ("PDMR") Notification Forms

 
 1.     Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person 
         closely associated 
 (a)    Name                                       Neil Hawkings 
       -----------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------- 
 2.     Reason for the notification 
       -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 (a)    Position/status                            Independent Non-Executive Director 
       -----------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------- 
 (b)    Initial notification/                      Initial notification 
         Amendment 
       -----------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------- 
 3.     Details of the issuer 
       -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 (a)    Name                                       Independent Oil and Gas plc 
       -----------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------- 
 (b)    LEI                                        2138005OA2NLZS2NRT74 
       -----------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------- 
 4.     Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated 
         for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; 
         (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions 
         have been conducted 
       -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 (a)    Description of the                         Independent Oil & Gas plc Ordinary 
         Financial Instrument                       Shares of 1p each 
       -----------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------- 
 (b)    Identification code                        ISIN: GB00BF49WF64 
         of the Financial 
         Instrument 
       -----------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------- 
 (c)    Nature of the transaction                  Grant of Options over ordinary shares 
                                                    of 1 pence each in the Company 
       -----------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------- 
 (d)    Price(s) and volume(s)                     Price(s)              Volume(s) 
                                                  --------------------  --------------------- 
                                                   13.5p                 600,000 
                                                  --------------------  --------------------- 
 
 (e)    Aggregated information 

          *    Aggregated volume                     n/a 
 
 
         - Price 
       -----------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------- 
 (f)    Date of the transaction                    24 May 2019 
       -----------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------- 
 (g)    Place of the transaction                   London Stock Exchange, AIM Market (XLON) 
       -----------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------- 
 

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May 24, 2019 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)