30th Jun 2025 13:48
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
London, 30 June 2025
Stakeholder discussions and Board changes
Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC (LSE: NOG) ("Nostrum" or the "Company"), an independent mixed-asset energy company with world-class gas processing facilities and export hub in north-west Kazakhstan, announces that Nostrum's principal stakeholders are currently in discussions regarding the future direction and leadership of the Company, taking into account in particular the scheduled maturity of the Group's Senior Secured Notes and Senior Unsecured Notes due in June 2026 issued by Nostrum's subsidiary Nostrum Oil & Gas Finance B.V.
Such discussions follow on from Nostrum's operational and commercial achievements over the past 12 months, during which period the Company secured approximately 138 million barrels of undeveloped proven reserves in its Stepnoy Leopard fields, extended Nostrum's gas processing agreement with Ural Oil & Gas to May 2031 and implemented a cost-effective field rejuvenation campaign for the Chinarevskoye field.
Following this transformational period of achievement of value-creation catalysts Nostrum is now set to embark on a new period during which it plans to execute and monetise its value-creating projects. In doing so, and in parallel with the ongoing discussions between its stakeholders mentioned above and the results of the Annual General Meeting of the Company held today, the Company announces the following changes to its governance arrangements:
· Arfan Khan has stepped down from the board with effect from the close of the AGM and will cease his role as chief executive officer with effect on 30 June
· Chris Hopkinson, an independent non-executive director, has stepped down from the board with effect from the close of the AGM
· It is proposed that Viktor Gladun (in addition to remaining as a director of the Company) be appointed as chief executive officer with effect as soon as reasonably practicable
Stephen Whyte remains the Company's chair and Martin Gudgeon and Fiona Paulus also continue as directors of the Company.
These governance changes will allow for additional appointments to the board to occur on an accelerated basis and any announcements in that regard will be made by the Company as and when appropriate.
The changes to the Board have received relevant consent in accordance with the requirements of the warrant instrument constituting the share warrants dated 9 February 2023 such that no right to exercise the warrants shall arise following these changes to the Board. The Company proposes to re-constitute the composition of the relevant committees of the Board following additional appointments of directors (so as to comply with the relevant provisions of the warrant instrument).
Stephen Whyte said:
"I would like to thank Arfan and Chris for their tremendous contributions to the Company. In particular, Arfan has played a key role in the transformation of Nostrum into a multi-asset (multiple oil-fields) and mixed-asset (upstream-midstream) business.
Even after the completion of the major financial restructuring in early 2023, the Company's business faced significant challenges due to its negative topline revenue growth; with significant debt on the books with a rapidly approaching maturity and no prospects of any extensions of the Chinarevskoye license to operate. Since then Arfan and his team have secured almost 150 million barrels of undeveloped proven reserves (Stepnoy Leopard) located circa 100 km away, extended the UOG gas processing agreement to 2031 (that was incrementally value accretive and under a fixed fee-structure provides an effective hedge against commodity price risks) and implemented a cost-effective field rejuvenation campaign for Chinarevskoye which has been effective in starting the turnaround of the business.
The Company is now in the midst of implementing a transformative phase of its life cycle, as it plans to develop a midstream business that will construct and operate the infrastructure to enable the commercial development of the Stepnoy Leopard field along with opening up the transportation business / corridor to the larger number of stranded gas fields in the vicinity. We look forward to the continuing positive development of Nostrum under the new leadership of Viktor Gladun."
LEI: 2138007VWEP4MM3J8B29
Further information
For further information please visit www.nog.co.uk
Further enquiries
Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC
Petro Mychalkiw, CFO
Instinctif Partners - UK
Galyna Kulachek
+ 44 (0) 207 457 2020
Notifying person
Thomas Hartnett
Company Secretary
About Nostrum Oil & Gas
Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC is an independent mixed-asset energy company with world-class gas processing facilities and export hub in north-west Kazakhstan. Its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: NOG). The principal producing asset of Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC is the Chinarevskoye field which is operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary Zhaikmunai LLP, which is the sole holder of the subsoil use rights with respect to the development of the Chinarevskoye field. The Company also owns an 80% interest in Positiv Invest LLP, which holds the subsoil use rights for the "Kamenskoe" and "Kamensko-Teplovsko-Tokarevskoe" areas in the West Kazakhstan region (the Stepnoy Leopard fields).
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in this document are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the intent, belief and current expectations of the Company or its officers with respect to various matters. When used in this document, the words "expects", "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "may", "will", "should" and similar expressions, and the negatives thereof, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are not promises nor guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those suggested by any such statements.
No part of this announcement constitutes, or shall be taken to constitute, an invitation or inducement to invest in the Company or any other entity, and shareholders of the Company are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Save as required by the relevant listing rules and applicable law, the Company does not undertake to update or change any forward-looking statements to reflect events occurring after the date of this announcement.
Related Shares:
Nostrum Oil&gas