CALGARY, Jan. 7, 2015 /CNW/ - Athabasca Oil
Corporation (TSX: ATH) ("Athabasca" or "the Company") is pleased to
announce the appointment of Carlos
Fierro and Paul Haggis to its
Board of Directors ("Board"). The Board has also promoted
Rob Broen, the Company's current
Chief Operating Officer, to the position of President and Chief
Operating Officer. Tom Buchanan continues as Athabasca's Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Fierro is a former investment banker and attorney based in
Washington, DC. He has over
25 years of experience in the natural resources sector, including
exploration and production, midstream, refining and marketing,
oilfield services and mining. Mr. Fierro has significant
transactional experience with a focus on mergers and acquisitions,
joint ventures, corporate restructurings and equity and debt
financings. From 2008-2013, he was a Managing Director and the
Global Head of the Natural Resources Group for Barclays PLC.
Prior to that he spent 11 years at Lehman Brothers, where his last
role was as the Global Head of the Natural Resources Group.
Before joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Fierro was a transactional
lawyer with Baker Botts L.L.P., where he practiced corporate,
M&A and securities law. Mr. Fierro is currently a
director of Shell Midstream Partners, L.P. and Sendero Midstream
Partners, a portfolio company of Energy Capital Partners. He
holds a B.A. from the University of Notre
Dame and a J.D. from Harvard
University.
Mr. Haggis has a wealth of experience in the institutional
investment industry as the former CEO of Ontario Municipal
Employees Retirement System (OMERS) and former President and CEO of
Alberta Treasury Branches. He currently sits on the boards of
CP Rail Limited (held the Chairman role from 2012-2014), Advantage
Oil and Gas Ltd., UBC Investment Management Trust and is the
Chairman of Alberta Enterprise Corporation (a private Alberta Crown
Corporation). Mr. Haggis is also an advisor to the board of
Insurance Corporation of British
Columbia (ICBC) and was the former Chair of ICBC's
Investment Committee. Mr. Haggis graduated from the
University of Western Ontario and is
certified as a Chartered Director through McMaster University.
"Back in November we committed to undertaking a board renewal
process and with the addition of Carlos and Paul to our Board we
have made meaningful progress towards delivering on that
commitment," says Tom Buchanan,
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. "Both
individuals bring extensive financial and energy sector experience
that will be of great value to Athabasca shareholders."
Mr. Fierro and Mr. Haggis join the slate of Athabasca's independent directors comprised of
Ronald Eckhardt (Lead Director),
Gary Dundas, Marshall McRae and Peter
Sametz. With the new additions Athabasca's Board will have eight
directors.
The Board has also promoted Rob
Broen, the Company's current Chief Operating Officer, to the
position of President and Chief Operating Officer, effective
immediately. Mr. Broen's primary responsibility will be to
continue to drive strong operational performance and execution
excellence across the organization. Mr. Broen joined
Athabasca in November 2012 as senior vice president Light Oil
and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in October 2013. Mr. Broen has more than 20
years of industry experience and prior to joining Athabasca led a 120,000 boe/d North American
shale gas portfolio (Montney,
Duvernay, Marcellus and Eagle
Ford) for an international exploration and production company.
"I would like to congratulate Rob on his new role" says
Tom Buchanan, Chairman of the Board
and Chief Executive Officer. "Under Rob's leadership, the
Athabasca team has made
significant technical strides over the past few years. The
Company remains focused on executing a disciplined and focused
capital plan. Maintaining balance sheet strength is a top
priority in the current operating environment. We look
forward to providing an update on the Duvernay and Hangingstone projects later in
the first quarter."
About Athabasca Oil Corporation
Athabasca Oil
Corporation is a Canadian energy company with a focused strategy on
the development of thermal and light oil assets. Situated in
Alberta's Western Canadian
Sedimentary Basin, the Company has amassed a significant land base
of extensive, high quality resources. Athabasca's common shares trade on the TSX
under the symbol "ATH". For more information, visit
www.atha.com.
SOURCE Athabasca Oil Corporation
