LONDON (Alliance News) - Range Resources Ltd Wednesday said Chief Executive Yan Liu has tendered his resignation as the company reported a 5% quarter-on-quarter fall in production.
Liu has resigned as CEO and as the general manager of the company's operations in Trinidad, where all of the company's production comes from, but he will stay on the board as a non-executive director.
Lijun Xiu, the company's deputy general manager in Trinidad, has been appointed as the general manager of Trinidad effective immediately.
"The board will consider a replacement for chief executive officer as appropriate. In the meantime, Mr Liu's duties have been allocated amongst the senior management team," said Range.
In a separate statement Wednesday, the company said production in the quarter ended December 31 averaged 547 barrels of oil equivalent per day net to the company, or a total of 50,311 barrels.
That was down 5% from the 575 barrels per day being produced in the previous quarter due to a combination of factors, principally a lack of new wells put on production during the quarter and natural decline of existing wells, it said.
Receipts from product sales and related debtors in the quarter totalled USD2.1 million, down from USD2.6 million in the previous quarter, mainly due to the lower oil prices.
Range currently has three development wells in Trinidad that are in progress. Morne Diable 249 is now contributing to production, averaging 21 barrels a day in the quarter. GY 679 at Beach Marcelle has been perforated and the performance of the well is being observed.
At GY 680, also at Beach Marcelle, the log evaluation has been completed and a 130 foot net oil sand has been encountered. The well is now producing, averaging 12 barrels a day.
Moving forward, the company said it will keep its work programme for 2016 under review in light of the difficult environment caused by lower oil prices.
Range also provided an update on its non-core assets. The company has already reported that three licenses in Colombia were revoked in the quarter, and the company continues to try and find a buyer for its assets in Georgia and Guatemala.
Capital expenditure in the quarter totalled USD1.7 million, a significant reduction from the USD4.5 million spent in the previous quarter.
At the end of December, Range's cash balance stood at USD21.9 million, down from USD24.9 million at the end of September.
Range shares were down 4.6% to 0.222 pence per share on Wednesday morning.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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