Pantheon Resources PLC (AIM:PANR, OTCQX:PTHRF) has appointed Alaskan energy executive Max Easley as its new chief executive officer as it prepares for a possible US listing and shifts from exploration to development and production.
The oil and gas company, which is focused on the Kodiak and Ahpun oil fields on Alaska's North Slope, said current CEO Jay Cheatham will continue to serve as a non-executive director for a handover period.
Pantheon said the appointment of Easley, who has held executive roles at BP Alaska, Apache Corporation and Petronas Canada as part of his 30 years of oil and natural gas industry experience, was a key step in the development of the board and governance in preparation for a US listing, with further board changes likely to come.
Executive chairman David Hobbs said Easley's decades of experience, especially on Alaska's North Slope and successful Permian and Montney developments, would be of great benefit to the company.
"This deep industry expertise, coupled with his strategic judgment and performance track record make him the ideal candidate to execute upon Pantheon's strategy," he added.
Under Max's leadership, the company will be well positioned to shift from an exploration to a development and production company in short order."
Alaskan-born and a petroleum engineering graduate from the University of Alaska, Easley initially worked in the UK and Trinidad before returning to Alaska as senior VP of resource development for BP Alaska.
Pantheon described his time since as "a driving force in the capital-efficient appraisal, development and production of unconventional resources both in the Permian Basin in Texas and the Montney in British Columbia".
Easley said: "I appreciate the confidence the Board of Directors has shown in selecting me to lead Pantheon at this critical inflexion point in the company's history.
"Jay and the team have done a fantastic job exploring, appraising and de-risking a material resource in a very advantaged location. I look forward to transitioning the company to the development and production of these resources at pace for the benefit of both our shareholders and the state of Alaska."
Hobbs said Cheatham had played a key role in the search for a new CEO and said he had been "key to the company's successes to date. We would not be where we are but for his calm determination since he was appointed some 17 years ago."
Easley will participate in the company's share option scheme in order to align himself with other executives and the wider interests of shareholders, the company said.
He is expected to be granted a one-off grant of 400,000 restricted stock units, five million options with various time-based and operational vesting criteria and eligibility for ongoing standard senior executive grants under the employee share ownership plan announced last October.