2 Nov 2007 13:20
Attention Business Editors:Bankers Petroleum announces new appointments
Private Placement and Option Grant
CALGARY, Nov. 2 /CNW/ - Bankers Petroleum Ltd. is pleased to announce the appointment of Abdel F. (Abby) Badwi in the role of Strategic Advisor, Doug Urch as Financial Advisor and Ian McMurtrie as Technical Advisor effective immediately.
Mr. Badwi will be appointed to the Board of Directors of Bankers upon completion of a private placement by the new appointees and has agreed to assume the position of Chief Executive Officer of Bankers on February 1, 2008. Richard Wadsworth will continue as President and will become Chief Operating Officer at that time. Mr. Badwi was President and CEO of Rally Energy Corp., an oil and gas exploration, development and production company listed on the TSX, until its sale in September 2007. Mr. Urch was Vice President, Finance and CFO and Mr. McMurtrie was Vice President, Exploration, of Rally Energy Corp.
Messrs. Badwi, Urch and McMurtrie have agreed to purchase, on a non-brokered private placement basis, an aggregate of 4.4 million units of the Company, at a price of $0.50 per unit. The $2.2 million in proceeds from the placement will be added to the Company's working capital. Each unit will comprise one common share of the Company and one non-transferrable share purchase warrant, each warrant entitling the holder, subject to certain conditions, to acquire on exercise one additional common share of the Company, at a price of $1.00 for a period of three years from the date of issue. The private placement is subject to TSX approval and is expected to close prior to the end of November.
In connection with the appointments the Company has granted the appointees an aggregate of 4.4 million stock options exercisable for a period of five years at $0.58 per share. The options will be subject to deferred vesting such that one-third of the options will vest and become exercisable on the first anniversary date of appointment and one-third on each of the second and third anniversary dates.
"We are extremely pleased that Abby and his team have decided to join us at Bankers," said Bob Cross, Chairman. "Abby, Doug and Ian were instrumental in substantially growing Rally Energy's reserves, production and cash flow in the Issaran oilfield in Egypt over a short two year period, and our Patos Marinza oilfield has many similarities to that field. They bring a wealth of experience in all aspects of heavy oil operations, including enhanced oil recovery technologies, which will compliment the proven capabilities of the team that Richard Wadsworth has assembled in Albania. We look forward to our next phase of growth."
Abdel F. (Abby) BADWI, P. Geol.
Mr. Badwi is an international energy executive and professional geologist with more than 35 years experience in the exploration, development and production of oil and gas fields in North America, South America, Asia and the Middle East. From 2005 until September 2007, he was President and CEO of Rally Energy Corp., an oil and gas company with operations in Egypt, Pakistan and Canada.
The management team of Rally Energy Corp., lead by Mr. Badwi and including Messrs Urch and McMurtrie, was instrumental in growing Rally's reserves from approximately nine million BOE to approximately 104 million BOE and production from 2,000 boepd to 8,000 boepd with an associated substantial increase in cash from operations in a short two-year period. Rally's principal area of operations was Egypt, where it had a 100% operating interest the Issaran heavy oil field.
Mr. Badwi was also previously President of Corrundum Energy Ltd., a private company providing advisory services and investments in oil and gas ventures, and served as President and CEO of Geodyne Energy and President and Chief Operating Officer of Carmanah Resources Ltd., a TSX Venture Exchange company with oil holdings in Canada, Indonesia and Venezuela. Mr. Badwi has been an officer and director of several Canadian public and private companies and is currently a director of Gastar Exploration Ltd., Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd., Sinchao Metals Corp., Fairmount Energy Inc., ArPetrol Inc. (a private oil and gas company with activities in Argentina) and Rally Energy Corp. He is 61 years of age.
Upon completion of the private placement and subsequent employment to the Board, Mr. Badwi will hold two million common shares, two million share purchase warrants of the Company and two million stock options
Doug Urch, B. Comm., CMA
Mr. Urch has over 25 years of oil and gas industry experience. From September 2000, he was Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Rally Energy Corp. and its subsidiaries. Prior to this time, Mr. Urch provided financial management services for a variety of public and private companies. He was Chief Financial Officer, Controller and Corporate Secretary of Barrington Petroleum Ltd. from 1991 to 1993 and Controller at Ryerson Oil and Gas Limited from 1983 to 1991. He is currently a Director and President of Perpetual Ventures Inc. (a private financial management consulting company).
Ian McMurtrie, P. Geol.
Mr. McMurtrie was Vice President, Exploration of Rally Energy Corp. since July 2004 and provided advisory services to that company since late 2003. Prior to advising Rally Energy Corp. he was President of Cawdor Investments Ltd., a private company managing oil and gas royalties and providing technical oil and gas consulting services to public and private companies. Mr. McMurtrie commenced his exploration career with Texaco Exploration Canada Ltd. He has been directly involved in the discovery and development of numerous oil and gas pools throughout North America for such companies as Czar Resources Ltd., United Rayore Gas Ltd., and Raptor Capital Corporation. Mr. McMurtrie has extensive expertise in the development of oil pools using innovative drilling technologies.
About Bankers Petroleum Ltd.
Bankers Petroleum Ltd. is a Canadian-based oil and gas exploration and production company focused on opportunities in unconventional petroleum assets. Bankers holds interests in four prospects in the Northern and Central regions of the United States, where it is currently pursuing the exploration of shale and tight gas sand plays. It also operates in the Patos-Marinza oilfield in Albania pursuant to a license agreement, producing heavy oil. Bankers shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the AIM Market in London, England under the ticker symbol BNK.
Caution Regarding Forward-looking Information
Information in this news release respecting the planned assumption of CEO responsibilities by Mr. Badwi in February, 2008 constitutes forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Company's plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and are believed to be reasonable based on information currently available to the Company. Contracts for personal services may be terminated or become incapable of being performed as a result of a variety of events or circumstances. While the company is not aware of any event or circumstance that would preclude Mr. Badwi from assuming CEO responsibilities as planned, there is no assurance that an intervening event or circumstance will not occur.
There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
For further information: Susan J. Soprovich, VP, Investor Relations and Corporate Governance, Ph: (403) 513-2681, Email: investorrelations(at)bankerspetroleum.com, Website: www.bankerspetroleum.com; AIM NOMAD: Ryan Gaffney, +44 20 7050 6777; Adam Janikowski, +44 20 7050 6746 (BNK)
BANKERS PETROLEUM LIMITED