MXP.L Regulatory News (MXP)

17 Oct 2007 13:36

Max Petroleum PLC17 October 2007 Max Petroleum Plc ("Max Petroleum" or "the Company") Management Changes and Update on Internal Investigation 17 October 2007 On 6 September 2007, Max Petroleum announced that it had suspended its CEO,Steve Kappelle, and COO, Ole Udsen, pending the outcome of an internalinvestigation, which included potential breaches of their employment contracts. The Company's investigation was led by Barlow, Lyde & Gilbert LLP, a leadinginternational law firm. The investigation primarily focused on certain relatedparty transactions, including the undisclosed receipt of share options bycertain employees and members of senior management that were issued by theCompany as partial consideration for the Astrakhanskiy contract area acquired inJanuary 2006, as well as the possible diversion of corporate opportunities. The Company's internal investigation is now nearing completion and thedisciplinary processes which resulted have led to the dismissal of its ChiefExecutive Officer, Steve Kappelle, Chief Operating Officer, Ole Udsen, and fiveother employees. The Board does not believe that any of the issues investigated have had, or willhave, a material negative impact on the Group's licences, assets, core business,or financial condition. The Company has engaged Preng & Associates, Inc., a global energy executivesearch specialist, to assist it in identifying replacement personnel. In theinterim, two directors, Bob Holland and Lee Kraus, will serve as interim CEO andCOO, respectively. The Company expects to conclude its investigation and release its year-endaudited financial results shortly. A detailed description of the materialfindings of the investigation will be set out in the "Directors Report" withinthe Company's year-end audited financial results. In the meantime, thetrading of the Company's ordinary shares on AIM and trading of the Company's6.75% convertible bonds due in 2011 on the Channel Islands Stock Exchange remainsuspended. The Company will provide a further update in due course. Jim Jeffs, Chairman, commented: "Whilst this has been a challenging time for the company, these events have ledto no material changes to our outlook or underlying business. Our short-termobjective is to ramp up production and become self-sustaining from internallygenerated cash flow. We are also actively pursuing farm-outs to exploit theCompany's deep portfolio, which the Company believes is amongst the best in theworld. We thank our shareholders, bondholders and employees for their patience andcontinued support." Enquiries: Max Petroleum Plc Michael Young Tel: +44 (0)20 7355 9590 Chief Financial Officer Peter Moss Tel: +44 (0)78 3457 2837 Investor Relations Manager Merlin PR David Simonson/ Tom Randell Tel: +44 (0)20 7653 6620 WH Ireland Ltd James Joyce/ David Porter Tel: +44 (0)20 7220 1666 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange