Ophir Energy Plc makes two changes to its Board effective immediately:

Bill Schrader has been appointed as Non-Executive Director to the Board. Mr Schrader has over 25 years' experience at BP, including as country head of Indonesia and Angola. Mr Schrader was also President of BP's joint venture in Azerbaijan for five years and Chief Operating Officer of TNK-BP in Russia. Mr Schrader holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA from the University of Houston.

Dennis McShane will become Director of Corporate Strategy, an Executive Director role. Mr McShane has previously served as a Non-Executive Director of Ophir since October 2007 and has 25 years' experience in the resources sector having been an investment banker with JPMorgan Chase, including many years working across Africa. He is a founding principal of Midas Resource Partners and, prior to joining Ophir, was the Executive Director of Finance and Business Strategy at the Ferrexpo Group. Mr McShane attended Harvard Business School and New York State University.

Following these appointments, Ron Blakely who is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director will become Senior Independent Non-Executive Director. Nicholas Smith will assume Mr McShane's role as Chairman of the Nominations Committee. After these appointments, the Company's board will comprise eight Directors: the Chairman, three Executive Directors and four independent Non-Executive Directors. Mr Lyn Powell will also be appointed to the Nominations Committee.

Tags: Ophir Energy