WH Ireland comment re Management Changes19 Aug 2019 10:19
Ascent Resources (AST) – Corporate – Board Changes
Market Cap £8m Share Price 0.30p
Dr. John Buggenhagen has been appointed CEO and Louis Castro has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman. Colin Hutchinson and Dr.Cameron Davies have retired as CEO and company chairman respectively.
In our opinion, Colin and Cameron have shown an extraordinary level of commitment to the success of Ascent and it is a credit them that the company has survived the extreme external challenges faced by the company over what has been a difficult period for the whole sector.
In our opinion, the change at the board is consistent with a shift in strategic focus for Ascent. Whereas a gas monetisation strategy of a proven and producing field was very much in keeping with the commercial skill set of the former CEO we believe John Buggenhangen’s experience and qualifications are consistent with a more traditional oil & gas growth strategy. In particular, John’s subsurface experience and broad experience growing gas projects in Central and Eastern Europe are aligned with the new growth ambitions for the company given the company intends to reflect on and in due course capture opportunities in that region.
Given the challenges for all junior oil & gas companies to secure appropriate project funding on reasonable terms, we believe that Louis Castro will bring a wealth of experience to the Ascent board. We note that Louis Castro has a longstanding career in investment banking and funding companies, inclusive of experience gained as NED and CFO of Eland Oil and Gas Plc.
On balance, we believe that the change represents an acknowledgement of the impracticalities of pursuing a focused gas monetisation strategy at the Petisovci field, in light of the frustrations created by the Slovenian regulators. In our opinion, the change also represents a highly exciting turning point given the intent to grow Ascent regionally and the skill sets of the new CEO and Chairm
Sign In
Follow the stocks
