Zoltav Resources Inc Appointment of Chief Executive Officer (5741U)

TIDMZOL

RNS Number : 5741U

Zoltav Resources Inc

01 April 2019

1 April 2019

Zoltav Resources Inc.

("Zoltav" or the "Company")

Appointment of Chief Executive Officer

Zoltav (AIM: ZOL), the Russia-focused oil and gas exploration and production company, announces the appointment of Tigran Tagvoryan as Chief Executive Officer (non-board) of the Company effective immediately.

Mr Tagvoryan joined Zoltav in November 2018, initially as Deputy Chief Executive Officer. He has significant senior level project development, finance, management and infrastructure experience within Russian supermajor oil and gas businesses. From 2013 to 2018, Mr Tagvoryan led the Russian gas business development and strategy divisions of PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ("Rosneft"), the leader of Russia's petroleum industry. During his time at Rosneft, Mr Tagvoryan was responsible for developing and implementing Rosneft's rapid gas production growth strategy. The business units he led were also responsible for evaluating all business development opportunities for Rosneft within the Russian gas sector. In parallel with these responsibilities, Mr Tagvoryan also became General Director of a Rosneft-PJSC Sberbank joint venture established to finance infrastructure for major new gas projects.

From 2002 until its acquisition by Rosneft in 2013, Mr Tagvoryan held various positions with TNK-BP, one of Russia's largest oil producers. Between 2002 and 2008, as Deputy Director General of OAO East Siberia Gas Company, a joint venture between TNK-BP and the Irkutsk Oblast Administration, Mr Tagvoryan managed the regional gasification project of Irkutsk Oblast from the giant Kovykta field in East Siberia. During his time at OAO East Siberia Gas Company, Mr Tagvoryan was involved in all aspects of commercial development and latterly the construction of more than 100 kilometres of gas pipelines. In 2008, he moved to TNK-BP's Moscow headquarters where he focused on new business development in various roles including as Commercial Director of Gas and Power, Department Head of Gas Business Development and Vice President, Corporate Business Development.

Mr Tagvoryan holds a BSc in Business and Management from the University of Maryland University College and a higher degree with excellence in Management from Irkutsk State University.

Mr Tagvoryan's role of Chief Executive Officer is not a board position although he will report to the board of directors. He takes over as Chief Executive Officer from Eduard Sleyn, who leaves Zoltav to take up his new position as Chief Transformation Officer with TransContainer.

Lea Verny, Independent Non-executive Chairman, commented:

"We are pleased to appoint Tigran Tagvoryan as Chief Executive Officer. He has deep and relevant experience to bring to Zoltav's current and future projects. Mr Tagvoryan will work closely with the Company's new geotechnical team towards realising the full potential of the Bortovoy Licence, with a particular focus on the undeveloped eastern fields. He may additionally evaluate prospective new projects.

"The board thanks Mr Sleyn for his efforts during his time with Zoltav and wishes him well in his next role.

"Over the past nine months, Zoltav has assembled a senior team that includes a number of highly accomplished former Bashneft and TNK-BP technical executives together with Mr Tagvoryan as Chief Executive Officer. I believe that Zoltav has one of the most experienced geotechnical and business development teams in place of any junior oil company operating in the region. They are working towards a shared goal of value creation."

Contacts:

 
Zoltav Resources Inc.                  Tel. [phone] 
                                        0234 
Lea Verny, Non-executive Chairman      (via Vigo Communications) 
 
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nomad  Tel. [phone] 
 and Joint Broker)                      0470 
John Mackay / Jeff Keating / Soltan 
 Tagiev 
 
Panmure Gordon (Joint Broker)          Tel. [phone] 
                                        2500 
Charles Lesser / James Stearns 
 
Vigo Communications                    Tel. [phone] 
                                        0234 
Ben Simons / Simon Woods               [e-mail] 
 

About Zoltav

Zoltav is an oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Russia.

Zoltav holds the Bortovoy Licence in the Saratov region of South Western Russia, a 3,215 square kilometre area along the northern margin of the Pre-Caspian basin, one of the largest hydrocarbon basins in the CIS.

The Bortovoy Licence contains a number of productive gas fields, a processing plant and significant exploration prospectivity. It holds Proved plus Probable reserves of 750 bcf of gas and 3.8 mmbbls of oil and condensate. In 2017, the Bortovoy Licence produced 14.8 bcf of natural gas and 122,962 bbls of oil and condensate for sale (approximately 2.6 mmboe in total).

An exploration programme is underway on the Bortovoy Licence to assess the resource potential of the deeper Carbonian and Devonian structures.

Zoltav also holds the Koltogor E&P Licence, a 528 square kilometre area in the Khantiy-Mansisk Autonomous Okrug of Western Siberia. Development activities on the Koltogor Licences are currently on hold.

For further information on Zoltav or to sign up for our news alert service visit: www.zoltav.com.

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April 01, 2019 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)