– IRELAND – Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP) the international oil and gas exploration, development and production company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Stephen (“Steve”) Ian Jenkins, 55, as Chairman with effect from 6 January 2014.
Steve was employed by Nautical Petroleum Plc (“Nautical”) from April 2005 to December 2012 and was CEO from April 2005 to August 2012 during which period he led Nautical through the AIM listing process in 2005, followed by a successful drilling programme in the North Sea, which featured a number of important oil discoveries and appraisals (including Kraken, Greater Catcher and Mariner), several fund raising and capital events and in August 2012, the successful sale of Nautical to Cairn Energy for £414 million. He is therefore well known to City institutions and private investors and will play an active City facing role in his new position at Circle.
Prior to this he was a consultant for Nautical AG/Masefield AG where he was a founding member of the Nautical AG management team who identified and successfully applied for Kraken block (9/2b) as operator in the UK Continental Shelf 21st licensing round.
Between 1992 and 2003, Steve was Business Development and HSE manager for Nimir Petroleum, a private Saudi Arabian company with extensive production and exploration interests in South America, Europe, North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and the Russian Far East. During this period he successfully led multidisciplinary teams to evaluate E&P opportunities in these areas and therefore has an intimate knowledge and understanding of the MENA area, which represents the core geographical focus for Circle.
Steve holds a BSc Geology degree from Queens University, Belfast and an MSc in Petroleum Geology from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London. He is Chairman of the Oil and Gas Independents Association.
Commenting on the appointment, Nick Clayton, the Interim Chairman, who will return to his role as a non-executive director following Steve’s appointment said: “The appointment of Steve Jenkins represents a landmark event for Circle and I am absolutely delighted to welcome him as the new Chairman. He has a wealth of technical, City, management and MENA experience and is therefore an ideal candidate to work with the Executive team and the Board to steer the Company through the next phase of development and growth”
Chris Green, the CEO of Circle, commented: “In Steve Jenkins we have a highly qualified and respected new Chairman. I look forward to working with Steve as we enter an exciting time for Circle and its stakeholders”
About Circle Oil Plc
Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP) is an international oil & gas exploration, development and production Company with an expanding portfolio of assets in Morocco, Tunisia, Oman and Egypt with a combination of low-risk near-term production and significant exploration upside potential. The Company listed on AIM in October 2004.
Internationally, the Company has continued to expand its portfolio over the past years and now has assets in the Rharb Basin, Morocco; the Ras Marmour Permit in southern Tunisia; the Mahdia Permit offshore Tunisia; the Grombalia Permit in northern Tunisia and the Zeit Bay area of Egypt. Circle also has the largest licence holding of any company in Oman. In addition to its prospective Block 52 offshore, Circle also has an ongoing exploration programme in Block 49 onshore.
Circle’s strategy is to locate and secure additional licences in prospective hydrocarbon provinces and through targeted investment programmes, monetise the value in those assets for the benefit of shareholders. This could be achieved through farm-outs to selected partners who would then invest in and continue the development of the asset into production, or Circle may itself opt to use its own expertise to appraise reserves and bring assets into production, generating sustained cash flow for further investment.
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