28th Aug 2014 07:23
LONDON (Alliance News) - Ophir Energy PLC said Thursday that it has appointed Dr Bill Higgs as its chief operating officer as its CFO and strategy director step down amid a company-wide restructuring and streamlining programme designed to reduce costs and adjust to the "future needs" of the business.
The upstream oil and gas exploration company said Higgs will join the company on September 10, reporting to CEO Nick Cooper and will join the board as an executive director and board member.
Higgs was most recently CEO at Mediterranean Oil & Gas PLC which was recently acquired by Rockhopper Exploration PLC. Before this he held a number of roles at Chevron Corp.
Chief Financial Officer Lisa Mitchell and Director of Strategy Dennis McShane are stepping down from the company as part of the restructuring; they are expected to leave the business by the end of the year, said the company.
Mitchell joined the board in 2013 after joining the company in 2011. McShane stepped into the executive position in 2013 after joining Ophir as an non-executive director in 2007.
The restructuring will be implemented across all levels of the FTSE 250-listed company and is designed to "reduce costs, and adjust to the future needs of the business... to streamline the senior management team." Subsequently, Ophir will have a smaller board, it said, with the number of Executive Directors reducing from three to two and Non-Executive Directors reducing from six to five.
"As Ophir grows, we need to adapt the Company's organisation and cost structure to its future business needs. This new management structure will better serve the Company's ambitions. The current Board and management team have achieved their objective of creating value and establishing Ophir as a front rank independent explorer," said CEO Cooper.
Ophir Energy shares were Thursday trading 0.91% lower at 227.70 pence per share.
By Alice Attwood; [email protected]; @AliceAtAlliance
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