Curzon Energy Plc (LON:CZN) has unveiled a number of management changes, with the most significant being the promotion of non-executive director Scott Kaintz to the position of chief executive.
Incumbent chief executive Stephen Schoepfer leaves the company with immediate effect, and so does chief financial officer Thomas Mazzarisi and technical director Thomas Wagenhofer.
The company noted that all three retiring directors will continue to work with Curzon in consulting roles.
READ: Curzon Energy continues to consider Coos Bay strategy
Curzon noted that its board will subsequently be streamlined and corporate cost reduction efforts aim to reduce overhead by 50%.
Notably, the company revealed that the corporate aspect would now be based in London rather than the US in order to “facilitate interaction with key investors and improve company messaging.”
In the meantime, planning is underway for the next work programmes at Coos Bay and the company is seeking new oil and gas opportunities, and certain complementary projects are presently under review.
Curzon is expected to pick-up operational activity
Kaintz, in a statement, told investors that post-restructuring the revamped Curzon is expected to deliver a pick-up in operational activity.
"I look forward to the opportunity to step into this exciting and challenging role and to work with the revised board to create value for our shareholders.
“As part of our ongoing development plans, our primary objective is to re-evaluate and streamline Curzon's cost structure to enable the majority of funds to go into the ground.
“We believe that the US natural gas space remains an attractive opportunity for UK investors, and we intend to drive Curzon further towards becoming a producing entity in the near term.
“This may include further development of the Coos Bay CBM asset, as well as evaluating additional, potential projects.”
Optimised for next steps
John McGoldrick, Curzon non-executive chairman, meanwhile, said: “Curzon meanwhile is now optimised to take the next steps in its development process.
He added: "It has been a pleasure to work with Stephen Schoepfer, Thomas Mazzarisi and Thomas Wagenhofer as they are all talented professionals who have played key roles in Curzon's development to date.
“Stephen Schoepfer and Thomas Mazzarisi in particular have made significant contributions to our Coos Bay coal bed methane project for many years both before and after the IPO of Curzon.
“Thomas Wagenhofer meanwhile has been critical to the technical development at Coos Bay over the past year, particularly in taking a project that had been on care and maintenance over an extended period and helping to reactivate it.
“We thank all three Directors for their efforts and look forward to their ongoing contributions to Curzon's development.”