RIMOUSKI, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - Sept. 17, 2013) - Pétrolia (TSX VENTURE:PEA) announces that it is continuing its growth strategy by implementing its succession plan. In that regard, the Company has made certain changes to its management team. Mr. André Proulx, President and CEO, is retiring from the day to day operations but will continue as a member of the board of directors. He will be replaced in the interim by Mr. Myron Tétreault, currently the Lead Director. Mr. Tétreault has also been appointed as Chairman of the Board and Mr. Charles Boulanger was appointed Lead Director. Mr. Alexandre Gagnon, currently Vice-President, Finance, was appointed Executive Vice-President and has accepted new responsibilities.
As a director, Mr. Proulx will continue to bring his vision, experience and advice to the Company. Mr. Proulx is a visionary who was the first to advocate and work for the emergence of an oil industry in Quebec. For many years, and with his customary tenacity and enthusiasm, Mr. Proulx has symbolized the entrepreneurial spirit of those for whom obstacles represent challenges. Pétrolia therefore wishes to recognize and applaud the irreplaceable contribution of Mr. Proulx to the development of the oil industry in Quebec.
Chairman of the Board and Interim President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Myron Tétreault will replace Mr. Proulx as Chairman of the Board and (Interim) President and Chief Executive Officer. As a member of the board of directors of Pétrolia since 2009 and as a respected and well known member of the Canadian oil industry, Mr. Tétreault is the right person to ensure the smooth implementation of the succession plan. With his experience, education and successes with various companies in this field, Mr. Tétreault will seek to advance the key objectives of the Company.
Lead director
Mr. Charles Boulanger will replace Mr. Tétreault as Lead Director. Mr. Boulanger has been a member of the board since 2012 and has more than 30 years of experience in senior management positions in many industry sectors, including with companies such as Shell Canada, Irving Oil, GSI Environment and Prolab Technologies.
Executive Vice-President
Mr. Alexandre Gagnon has been appointed Executive Vice-President, a new position created in the context of the succession plan of the Company.
Chief Operating Officer
As announced by press release on July 16, 2013, Mr. Gildas Collin will join the team of Pétrolia in the coming weeks as Chief Operating Officer. This appointment will help complete the best technical team in the Quebec oil industry.
In the coming months, Pétrolia expects to appoint a permanent President and Chief Executive Officer. In the meantime, the management team will use all its efforts to implement the next steps of its business plan. In this regard, Mr. Tétreault stated: "As a member of the board and as Lead Director, I have had an opportunity to become familiar with the business of Pétrolia. I am very pleased to assume these new roles and to work with our management team and our employees to implement our succession plan. We have a great opportunity to pursue the development of an oil industry in Quebec, in collaboration with governmental authorities and our industry partners. We will continue to use our best efforts to explore for, develop and produce oil on our properties in Gaspé and on Anticosti Island, while respecting the most stringent health, safety and environmental standards. I want to thank Mr. Proulx for his efforts and accomplishments, which will allow us to remain the leader in Quebec oil industry".
In the context of his appointment, on September 15, 2013, the board granted to the new Chairman and (Interim) President and Chief Executive Officer, 400,000 options to acquire shares at a price of $0.98 expiring on September 14, 2018.
About Pétrolia
Pétrolia is a junior oil and gas exploration company which owns interests in oil and gas licenses covering 16,000 km² (4 million acres), which represents about 22% of the Québec territory under lease. The leases, the majority of which are located on the Gaspé Peninsula and Anticosti Island, are considered to be very promising and represent almost 71% of the territory under lease for which there is land-based oil potential in Québec. Pétrolia has 69 431 372 shares issued and outstanding.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements made herein may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or the future economic performance of Pétrolia and carry known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may appreciably affect their results, economic performance or accomplishments when considered in light of the content or implications of statements made by Pétrolia. Actual events or results could be significantly different. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Pétrolia does not intend and undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Biographies
Myron Tétreault
Myron Tétreault has been President since 1999 of Calafate Holdings Ltd., a private investment management and venture capital company. He is also a co-founder and Director of Echo Merchant Fund Ltd. (a private mezzanine fund), Fitzroy Developments Ltd. (a private real estate company), Northern Vision Development Corp. (a private real estate company) and of Webber Academy Foundation (a non-profit company that operates a private school in Calgary, Alberta). Mr. Tétreault serves as the Lead Director of PHX Energy Services Corp., a TSX-listed horizontal and directional drilling company. Between 1999 and 2003, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Octane Energy Services Ltd., an exchange-listed oilfield services company. He was general counsel and corporate secretary of PHX Energy Services Corp. (and its predecessors) from 1997 to 2007. Mr. Tétreault was one of the founders of Total Energy Services Ltd. (a TSX-listed oilfield services company), where he served as general counsel and corporate secretary from November 1996 to July 2000. From August 1993 to December 1997, Mr. Tétreault was a corporate and securities lawyer with the law firm Bennett Jones Verchere (now Bennett Jones, LLP). Mr. Tétreault obtained his Juris Doctor degree (with distinction) from the University of Saskatchewan in 1992 and his Bachelor of Business Administration degree (cum laude) from the University of Ottawa in 1998. He is a member of the Law Society of Alberta and was a member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization for 10 years.
Charles Boulanger
Mr. Boulanger graduated from Laval University in 1981 with a degree in mechanical engineering and has senior management training from the International Center for Research and Studies in Management (CIREM) in 1990. He has been the President of Moody Management Inc., a private investment firm, since 2011 and acts as Interim President of Leddartech. Prior to that, Mr. Boulanger was the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Unipex SAS in 2008 after being President of the Active Ingredients and Specialty Chemicals Division of Atrium Innovations (TSX: ATB) from 2004 to 2008. Before joining Atrium, he was the Founder and President of the Pôle Québec Chaudière-Appalaches (Quebec International) after being a partner with Phenix Capital. Mr. Boulanger has over 30 years' experience in senior management positions in several industrial sectors with companies such as Shell Canada, Irving Oil, GSI Environment and Prolab Technologies.
Alexandre Gagnon, M.Sc., Adm.A, FRM
A senior executive of Pétrolia since November 2011, Mr. Gagnon is responsible for investor relations, finance and the development of financing and investment strategies. He also has considerable experience in risk management and finance strategy, acquired notably at AFC Capital (where he was Vice-President, Risk and Finance Management), at Innocap, a partner of the National Bank of Canada and BNP Paribas, at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and at Standard Life of Canada. Mr. Gagnon obtained a Masters degree in Management Science (Finance Option) from the HEC in Montreal in 2006, as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. He is also a Chartered Administrator and Financial Risk Manager.
Gildas Collin
An engineering graduate of Arts et Métiers and Institut Français du Pétrole, with a specialty in economics and management, Gildas Collin has more than 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Before coming to Pétrolia, Gildas Collin served since 2011 as Chief Petroleum Engineer at the headquarters of Perenco, an independent oil and gas company based in London and active on four continents. During his career he has acquired a wealth of experience in key areas of oil and gas exploration and production. His practical operating experience in the oil industry combined with his in-depth knowledge of reservoir modeling, oil reserve estimation, and economic project analysis are highly valued assets for the Chief Operating Officer position.