29 September 2022
Orcadian Energy plc
(“Orcadian Energy”, “Orcadian” or the “Company”)
Board Changes
Orcadian Energy (AIM: ORCA), the low-emissions North Sea oil and gas development company, announces the following changes to the Board.
Greg Harding has confirmed his intention to retire from the Board of the Company at the end of the year. Greg was a founder of Orcadian back in October 2013 when he and Steve Brown started screening relinquishment reports for a North Sea project of scale. After almost nine years with Orcadian, Greg is planning to retire. The Board thanks Greg for his outstanding contribution to our understanding of the very best way to develop the Pilot field, and his unwavering support for our plans. Greg will cease to be a director of the Company from the 31st December 2022 and the Board all wish Greg the very best in his retirement.
Christian Wilms has advised the Board that given his increasing executive responsibilities, it has become difficult for him to dedicate the necessary time to his role as a non-executive at Orcadian. As such, Christian has asked to leave the board; and he will cease to be a director of the Company from the 31st October 2022. Christian joined the Orcadian board in 2019, just as he was moving from Shell to MOL. He has been a great counsellor, both technically and commercially, and his advice will be much missed. We wish him all the best in his future career.
Following these changes, the Orcadian board will consist of four directors: Joe Darby, Non-Executive Chairman, Tim Feather, Independent Non-Executive Director, Steve Brown, Chief Executive Officer and Alan Hume, Chief Financial Officer. The board is aware of its responsibilities under the QCA Corporate Governance Code for smaller companies to have two independent non-executive directors on the board of the Company, and will look to appoint a new independent board member in due course.
The board committees will be made up as follows:
| Joe Darby | Tim Feather | Steve Brown | Alan Hume | |
| Audit Committee | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ||
| Remuneration Committee | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ||
| Compliance Committee | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | |
| Reserves Committee | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ||
| Risk Committee | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
Steve Brown, Orcadian’s CEO, said:
“I have worked with Greg in various companies and roles for the last twenty-five years, and we have had many petroleum engineering debates throughout that time. I’ll miss that a lot. Greg has been an outstanding reservoir engineer and director and I wish him a long and enjoyable retirement.
“Christian joined Orcadian as he transitioned from Shell to MOL. He has a great career in front of him and it was always possible that, at this stage in his career, it would become too burdensome to discharge his responsibilities as a non-executive director. We wish him all the best in the future, and I will surely still call on him for his counsel and advice.”
For further information on the Company please visit the Company’s website: https://orcadian.energy
Contact:
| Orcadian Energy plc | + 44 20 7920 3150 |
|
Steve Brown, CEO Alan Hume, CFO |
|
| WH Ireland (Nomad and Joint Broker) | +44 20 7220 1666 |
|
Harry Ansell / Fraser Marshall (Corporate Broking) Katy Mitchell / Andrew de Andrade (Nomad) |
|
| Shore Capital (Joint Broker) | +44 20 7408 4090 |
|
Toby Gibbs (Advisory) |
| Tavistock (PR) | + 44 20 7920 3150 |
|
Nick Elwes Simon Hudson |
[email protected] |
| Charlesbye (PR) | + 44 7403 050525 |
|
Lee Cain / Lucia Hodgson |
About Orcadian Energy
Orcadian is a North Sea focused, low emissions, oil and gas development company. In planning its Pilot development, Orcadian has selected wind power to transform oil production into a cleaner and greener process. The Pilot project is moving towards approval and will be amongst the lowest carbon emitting oil production facilities in the world, despite being a viscous crude. Orcadian may be a small operator, but it is also nimble, and the Directors believe it has grasped opportunities that have eluded some of the much bigger companies. As we strike a balance between Net Zero and a sustainable energy supply, Orcadian intends to play its part to minimise the cost of Net Zero and to deliver reliable organic energy.
Orcadian Energy (CNS) Ltd (“CNS”), Orcadian’s operating subsidiary, was founded in 2014 and is the sole licensee of P2244, which contains 78.8 MMbbl of 2P Reserves in the Pilot discovery, and of P2320 and P2482, which contain a further 77.8 MMbbl of 2C Contingent Resources in the Elke, Narwhal and Blakeney discoveries (as audited by Sproule, see the CPR in the Company’s Admission Document for more details). Within these licences there are also 191 MMbbl of unrisked Prospective Resources. These licences are in blocks 21/27, 21/28, 28/2 and 28/3, and lie 150 kms due East of Aberdeen. The Company also has a 50% working interest in P2516, which contains the Fynn discoveries. P2516 is administered by the Parkmead Group and covers blocks 14/20g and 15/16g, which lie midway between the Piper and Claymore fields, 180 kms due East of Wick.
Pilot, which is the largest oilfield in Orcadian’s portfolio, was discovered by Fina in 1989 and has been well appraised. In total five wells and two sidetracks were drilled on Pilot, including a relatively short horizontal well which produced over 1,800 bbls/day on test. Orcadian’s proposed low emissions, field development plan for Pilot is based upon a Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO), with over thirty wells to be drilled by a Jack-up rig through a pair of well head platforms and provision of power from a floating wind turbine.
Emissions per barrel produced are expected to be about an eighth of the 2020 North Sea average, and less than half of the lowest emitting oil facility currently operating on the UKCS. On a global basis this places the Pilot field emissions at the low end of the lowest 5% of global oil production.
