23 Sep 2010 07:00
For immediate release 23 September 2010
Hardy Oil and Gas plc
("Hardy" or "the Company")
Issue of Restricted Shares
Hardy Oil and Gas plc (LSE: HDY), the oil and gas exploration and production company with interests predominantly in India, announces that it has issued an aggregate of 17,489 ordinary shares of US$0.01 each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares") to four of its non-executive directors, including the chairman.
Hardy's remuneration policy provides for all non-executive directors to be issued Ordinary Shares equivalent to 25 per cent of their annual cash fee on an annual basis. The Ordinary Shares are issued in consideration for services rendered in 2009 at a price of £2.23 per Ordinary Share, being the closing price on the day prior to issue.
The Ordinary Shares are subject to Restricted Shares Agreements whereby such Ordinary Shares will be restricted for a period of three years from the date of issue and, save in certain circumstances, will only be released if the non-executive director remains a director throughout the three year period.
Set out below is a table showing the number of Ordinary Shares of Hardy issued to each of the four non-executive directors (including the chairman):
|
Name |
Number of Ordinary Shares Issued |
Number of Ordinary Shares beneficially interested in following the issue |
Percentage of the issued share capital beneficially interested in following the issue |
|
Paul Mortimer (chairman) |
5,381 |
875,432 |
1.28% |
| Carol Bell | 4,036 | 4,036 | 0.01% |
| Pradip Shah | 4,036 | 668,471 | 0.98% |
| Ian Bruce | 4,036 | 379,822 | 0.55% |
|
Total |
17,489 |
1,927,761 |
2.81% |
Application has been made today to the UK Listing Authority and to the London Stock Exchange for the new Ordinary Shares, to be admitted to the Official List maintained by the UK Listing Authority, and to be admitted to trading by the London Stock Exchange on its market for listed securities. It is expected that admission of the Ordinary Shares will become effective on or around 28 September 2010.
For further information please contact:
Hardy Oil and Gas plc 020 7471 9850
Yogeshwar Sharma Chief Executive Officer
Dinesh Dattani Finance Director
Arden Partners plc 020 7 614 5917
Richard Day
Matthew Armitt
Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000
Mark Edwards
Ben Romney
NOTES TO THE EDITORS
Hardy Oil and Gas plc is an upstream international oil and gas company whose assets are principally in India. Its portfolio includes a blend of exploration, appraisal, development, and production assets. Hardy's goal is to evaluate and exploit its asset base with a view to creating significant value for its shareholders.
Hardy Oil and Gas plc has existing production from an offshore field in India's Cauvery basin. Hardy also has interests in four offshore exploration blocks in India's Saurashtra, Cauvery, and Krishna Godavari basins, one onshore exploration block in the Assam basin and two licences in Nigeria.
Hardy is incorporated under the laws of the Isle of Man and headquartered in London, UK. Ordinary shares of Hardy were admitted to the Official List and the London Stock Exchange's market for listed securities effective 20 February 2008 under the symbol HDY.L.
The Company's Indian assets are held through the wholly owned subsidiary Hardy Exploration & Production (India) Inc, located in Chennai, India. The Company's Nigerian assets are held through wholly owned subsidiary Hardy Oil Nigeria Limited, located in Lagos, Nigeria which are in the process of being disposed.
For further information please refer to our website at www.hardyoil.com