OREANDA-NEWS. January 18, 2016. Dana Gas PJSC (“Dana Gas” or the “Company”), the Middle East's leading publicly listed natural gas company, has announced the following key senior management appointments.

Chris Hearne was appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company on 4 January 2016.  Prior to joining Dana Gas, Mr Hearne was with Serica Energy plc, an international oil exploration and production company listed on the AIM market in London, where he served as Chief Financial Officer and Director from 2005.  Mr Hearne has over 20 years’ experience within the oil industry having been CFO and Senior Vice President of Erin Energy, a NYSE listed company with oil assets across Africa, and with Intrepid Energy North Sea Limited. 

Mr Hearne was originally an investment banker and has wide experience of corporate finance transactions, including capital markets and M&A, with 10 years with Lehman Brothers International and Robert Fleming & Co.

The Company also appointed Iman Hill as Technical Director in September 2015. Ms Hill additionally holds the positions of General Manager for the UAE and Egypt and is currently responsible for delivering the Zora Gas Field project and the GPEA drilling program in both countries, respectively. Prior to joining Dana Gas, Ms Hill held the position of Vice President Development and Production Africa for Sasol E&P International. Ms Hill has 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry across numerous geographies, including the MENA region, Africa, Latin America and the Far East. She has worked as Managing Director and Chairwoman of Shell Egypt, and Senior Vice President for Brazil with BG Group. She has previously served as a Non-Executive Board Director of Outokumpu, Europe’s largest steel company. Ms Hill is a Petroleum Engineer and is a fluent Arabic speaker.

Separately, Duncan Maclean has been appointed to the position of Legal and Commercial Director of the Company.  Mr Maclean joined the Company in March 2014 as the Commercial and Business Development Director.  Previously, Mr Maclean was a partner with the global law firm of Squire Patten Boggs based in Perth, Australia, and was the Co-Chair of the firm’s global energy and resources group.  Mr Maclean is admitted to the Supreme Courts of Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and the High Court of Australia. He has over 20 years’ extensive experience of practicing international energy law.

Commenting on the appointments, Dr Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas, said:

“We are delighted that Chris Hearne has joined Dana Gas. His record of accomplishment at Intrepid and Serica and his wealth of experience in corporate finance and capital markets will be a real asset to the Company and shareholders alike. Chris’s appointment completes a triumvirate of key leadership positions, with Iman Hill joining as Technical Director and General Manager for UAE and Egypt in September 2015 and Duncan Maclean’s appointment to Legal and Commercial Director with effect from the 1st December 2015.

“We look forward to leveraging their collective experience in the oil and gas sector to drive our plans for growth in 2016 and beyond. We have an exciting mix of exploration programmes in Egypt and significant development projects, the Gas Production Enhancement Agreement in Egypt and the Zora Gas Field project in the UAE. Chris, Iman and Duncan will be key in supporting me and the rest of the team to ensure the successful delivery of these projects, especially during this period of global economic and oil price uncertainty.”