27th Feb 2007 07:03
Chaco Resources PLC27 February 2007 27 February 2007 CHACO RESOURCES PLC ("Chaco" or "The Company") Fund Raising and Board Changes Chaco Resources Plc (AIM: CHP), the oil and gas explorer and developer focusedin South America, announces a placing to raise £1.9m before expenses through theissue of 16.5 million new ordinary shares at 11.5 pence per share. The Companyplans to use the proceeds of the Placing to finance further investment inexploration projects in South America and for general working capital. Asannounced on 19 February the Company's negotiations with regard to a newexploration project are proceeding satisfactorily and the Company hopes to makea further announcement as soon as practicable. Application will be made for the new ordinary shares to be admitted to AIM onMonday 5th March 2007. The new ordinary shares will rank pari passu in allrespects with the existing ordinary shares which are currently traded on AIM.Following admission of the new ordinary shares, there will be 551,934,554ordinary shares in issue. The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Giles Clarke asChairman and Dr. John Wardle as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Giles Clarke, 53, has considerable experience in the City and a number ofcommercial interests. He is Chairman and controlling shareholder of WestleighInvestments, a West Country group of businesses. Giles is currentlynon-executive chairman of Pure Wafer plc, which listed on AIM in 2004, anon-executive director of the England and Wales Cricket Board, a NationalCouncil member of the Learning and Skills Council and chairman of severalprivate organisations. He founded Majestic Wine in 1981 and built it into anational chain of wine warehouses. He also co-founded Pet City in 1990, whichhe expanded nationwide, before being listed and subsequently sold, in 1996, for£150 million. He also co-founded Safestore PLC, and orchestrated the sale ofthe company to Bridgepoint in 2003. Dr. John Wardle, 47, has been Chaco's Resident Manager in Colombia since 2006,where he has responsibility for the implementation of all of Chaco's operations.He holds a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from the University of Nottingham and aPh.D. in Rock Mechanics and Geophysics. He is an experienced drilling engineer,having worked with BP and has held a number of senior management positions withoil exploration companies. Chaco has entered into a strategic joint ventureconsultancy with Expet S.A. as referred to in the 2006 Annual Report & Accounts. Jon Pither, currently Chairman, will become Deputy Chairman of the Boardfollowing Giles Clarke's appointment as Chairman. Jon Pither, said: "The Company has reached the point where its defined near andmedium term objectives are close to realisation. There is therefore an excitingprogramme ahead and it is important that the Company has the continuity ofmanagement through this period to optimise shareholder value. We are delightedto welcome Giles and John to the Board. Their wealth of experience fromdifferent fields will be a great asset to the Company as we build on ourplatform for future growth in South America." The current Chief Executive Officer, John Morris, will become a non-executivedirector, having been with the Company since its establishment in 1987 and itsadmission to AIM in 2004. Graeme Stephens intends to step down as Technical Director to become anon-executive director on 31 March 2007; and Martin Groak, non-executivedirector, will be stepping down from his position in April 2007. Jon Pitheradded: "I would like to take this opportunity of thanking them all for theirinvaluable work throughout their time at Chaco." Dick van den Broek, 68, has been appointed as a consultant to the Company andAdviser to the Chairman. Mr van den Broek worked for 33 years in many differentassignments worldwide for Royal Dutch Shell (RDS). His last assignment with RDSwas as Regional Director for Latin America & Africa, and a Director of ShellInternational Petroleum, with full responsibilities for all RDS activities inthose continents, both upstream and downstream. These included significantupstream transactions in Colombia, Peru, Argentina and Venezuela, and manynegotiations with government bodies throughout the region. Since his retirement from RDS he has acted as a consultant to variousinstitutions such as to Accenture in Russia and India, to the EBRD for theRomanian oil industry and to CDC in the Philippines. He is an active participant in institutions focused on Latin America such asCanning House and the Anglo-Venezuelan Society. He is of Dutch nationality,based in London, and has a Masters degree in Economics from Erasmus Universityin Rotterdam (NL). Following the above changes, the Board will comprise the following: Giles Clarke - chairmanJon Pither - non-executive deputy chairmanDr. John Wardle - chief executive officerNicola Brookes - finance directorVictor Valdovinos - regional director for South AmericaJohn Morris - non-executive directorGraeme Stephens - non-executive directorDoug Jendry - non-executive director Giles Clarke, the new Chairman, said: "I am extremely pleased to be working withDr John Wardle to develop the exciting opportunities in Colombia which he hassuccessfully negotiated, and Senor Victor Valdovinos in Paraguay. I am alsodelighted that Dick van den Broek has agreed to join us with his enormous wealthof experience in South America and his wide range of contacts throughoutindustry and government in the area. We look forward to an exciting future forChaco". Giles Clarke owns 2,912,268 Chaco shares which represents 0.53% of the proposedissued share capital. The following information in respect of Giles Clarke is disclosed in accordancewith Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules: Current Directorships and Appointments The Boston Tea Party LimitedDesignspin LimitedThe Boston Tea Party Group LimitedEngland And Wales Cricket Board LimitedPure Wafer PlcBristol Old Vic Trust Limited (The)ATL Telecom LimitedFosters Rooms LimitedClark Clay Industries LimitedBristol Old Vic (Trading) LimitedRam (102) LimitedPure Wafer International LimitedWestleigh Investments Holdings LimitedWest Country Business Systems (Holdings) LimitedWest Country Business Systems LimitedM J Associates LimitedRam ( 106 ) LimitedAll Mass Cladding Systems LimitedMA Digital Group Limited Past Directorships and Appointments Spaces Personal Storage LimitedServiced Office Group plcRam (102) Limited The following information in respect of John Wardle is disclosed, in accordancewith Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules: Current Directorships and Appointments Optipetrol S.A.Expet S.A. There are no further details required to be disclosed under Schedule 2(g) of theAIM Rules. For further information contact:Nicola Brookes, Finance DirectorChaco Resources plcTel: 01494 431195 Lindsay Mair Clare IrvineDaniel Stewart & Company plc Parkgreen CommunicationsTel : 0207 776 6550 Tel: 0207 851 7480 Notes to Editors: Background Chaco Resources Plc is an oil and gas exploration and production company whosestrategy is to pursue hydrocarbon exploration and development opportunities inSouth America. Chaco currently operates in Paraguay and Colombia. For further information on Chaco's interests in Colombia and Paraguay please seethe website www.chacoplc.com Chaco Resources plc has offices in the UK, Western Australia, Paraguay andColombia. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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