1st May 2008 07:00
Dragon Oil PLC01 May 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1st May 2008 Dragon Oil plc ("Dragon Oil" or the "Company" or "the Group") Senior Management Changes Dragon Oil plc, an international oil and gas exploration and production company,is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Abdul-Jaleel Al-Khalifa as ChiefExecutive Officer ('CEO') with effect from 1st May 2008. Hussain M. Sultan willcontinue in the role of Executive Chairman. Appointment of Dr. Abdul-Jaleel Al-Khalifa, 50, Chief Executive Officer Dr. Al-Khalifa brings 23 years of leadership and technical experience inexploration and petroleum engineering to the Dragon Oil group. He joins theCompany from Saudi Aramco where he managed a wide range of exploration,petroleum engineering and development departments, based in Dhahran, SaudiArabia over the past 12 years. Dr. Al-Khalifa was the first President of the International Society of PetroleumEngineers ('SPE') to be appointed from the Asia/Africa region and presided overthe SPE from September 2006 until November 2007. During his time with theSociety Dr. Al-Khalifa launched the SPE Industry Advisory Council where hefocused on leveraging new technologies and engaging talent to improve corporateand industry performance. Dr. Al-Khalifa has a doctorate in petroleum engineering from Stanford Universityand is a respected public speaker on the oil and gas industry. In addition, hehas a keen involvement in humanitarian efforts, being a founder member of theIndustry's Humanitarian Support Alliance NGO (IHSAN-H2O). Restructuring of Chairman and CEO role Hussain M. Sultan, the current Chairman and CEO, will continue to have anintegral role within the management team as the Executive Chairman of the Board.With Dr. Al-Khalifa assuming the role of CEO, Mr. Sultan will be able to applygreater focus on strategic activities including diversification of the Group'sportfolio and geographic positioning, as well as maintaining and improvingrelationships with Dragon Oil's key stakeholders. Hussain M. Sultan, Executive Chairman, commented: "I would like to welcome Dr. Al-Khalifa to the Company and I look forward toworking with him closely in the next exciting phase of Dragon Oil's future. Hisappointment is a significant achievement for Dragon Oil and I am certain thathis wealth of experience in the E&P industry and extensive internationalcontacts will contribute greatly to the ongoing growth and development of theDragon Oil Group. "I will continue to be heavily involved in Dragon Oil and I am keen to refocusmy efforts on strategic business targets. I will be looking to build on ourrelationships with our shareholders, analysts and the wider financial community,as well as the Turkmenistan and the Yemen Governments. Furthermore, I will bedevoting a great deal of my time to diversification of the asset base to securelong-term profitability and return on investment for our shareholders." Background Note Dragon Oil Plc is an innovative international oil and gas development andproduction company, quoted on the London and Irish Stock exchanges (Tickersymbol: DGO). Its principal producing asset is in the Cheleken Contract Area, inthe eastern section of the Caspian Sea, offshore Turkmenistan and recentlyacquired interests in Blocks 35, 49 and R2 (10%) in the Republic of Yemen. Dragon Oil (Turkmenistan) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dragon Oil plc,holds 100% interest in and is the operator of the Production Sharing Agreementfor the Cheleken Contract Area in the Caspian Sea, offshore Turkmenistan.Operational focus is on the re-development of two oil producing fields,Dzheitune (Lam) and Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov). www.dragonoil.com For further information please contact: Media enquiriesCitigate Dewe Rogerson (+44 20 7638 9571)Martin JacksonGeorge Cazenove Investor and Analyst enquiriesDragon Oil Plc (+971 4 305 3600)Leanne Denman, Investor Relations Officer This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
DGO.L