4 Mar 2010 07:00
For immediate release 4 March 2010
Hardy Oil and Gas plc
("Hardy" or "the Company")
Management Change
Hardy Oil and Gas plc (LSE : HDY), the oil and gas exploration and production company with interests predominantly in India, today announces that Sastry Karra will be relinquishing his current position as Chief Executive and maintain an ongoing involvement with the Company as a Non Executive Director. Yogeshwar Sharma, currently Chief Operating Officer, will succeed Sastry Karra as Chief Executive Officer effective 31 March 2010.
While Hardy will continue to benefit from Sastry's advice and counsel as a Non Executive Director, the Board wishes to acknowledge his immense contribution to Hardy, which he co-founded in 1997. Mr Karra was instrumental in building the company's unique spread of exploration acreage in India that led to the successful listing of the company first on AIM and later on the London Stock Exchange. His knowledge of the business, established over a forty year career, and network of contacts has been, and will continue to be, invaluable to Hardy.
The Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Yogeshwar Sharma as Chief Executive Officer of Hardy, and the transfer of responsibility is already underway. Mr Sharma co-founded Hardy with Mr Karra and has over 35 years of experience in the oil and gas business. We look forward to continued growth and development under Mr Sharma.
Commenting on the management change, Mr Mortimer, Chairman of Hardy said:
"We would like to thank Sastry for his tireless work over the past twelve years as Chief Executive of Hardy and are very pleased that he will continue as a Non Executive Director. It was Sastry's vision that has placed Hardy in the position it is today. The management is determined to fulfill the potential of that vision."
For further information please contact:
Hardy Oil and Gas plc 020 7471 9850
Yogeshwar Sharma
Dinesh Dattani
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 Krishna Godavari, Saurashtra, and Cauvery Basins and one onshore exploration block in the Assam Basin and two development 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.
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.
For further information, please refer to our website at www.hardyoil.com