EPL Appoints New Board of Directors
22 Settembre 2009 - 12:39AM
PR Newswire (US)
Gary C. Hanna Named Chief Executive Officer NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 21
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Energy Partners, Ltd. ("EPL" or, the
"Company") (Pink Sheets: ERPLQ) (NYSE:EPL) today announced that, in
connection with the Company's emergence from bankruptcy, five
individuals have been appointed to serve as the Company's Board of
Directors, effective immediately. In addition, the Board has named
Gary C. Hanna as EPL's Chief Executive Officer, effective
immediately. As outlined in the Company's Second Amended Joint Plan
of Reorganization as modified as of September 16, 2009, filed with
the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of
Texas, the Board members were designated by the new equity owners
of EPL. The Board is comprised of Messrs. Charles O. Buckner, Scott
A. Griffiths, Marc McCarthy, Steven J. Pully and John F. Schwarz.
Biographies for the Board members and for Mr. Hanna are included
below. "I speak for the entire Board when I express my excitement
about joining the team at Energy Partners," said Mr. McCarthy, the
new Chairman of EPL's Board of Directors. "I am confident in EPL's
bright future and the Board and management team are looking forward
to working to make it even stronger. We are also pleased to welcome
Gary to the Company and believe he is an excellent addition to EPL.
Gary is well respected in the industry and his proven and versatile
leadership skills make him well-suited to lead EPL." "I am very
pleased to be joining EPL as we begin this new chapter," said Gary
C. Hanna, Chief Executive Officer. "I believe that the Company's
improved capital structure and enhanced financial flexibility
positions us well within our industry. EPL's strong management team
and dedicated employees provide a solid platform for future growth,
and I look forward to working closely with them to achieve that
goal." Biographies Gary C. Hanna - Chief Executive Officer Mr.
Hanna has nearly 30 years of executive experience in the energy
sector. From 2008 to 2009, Mr. Hanna served as President and Chief
Executive Officer for Admiral Energy Services, a startup company
focused on the development of offshore energy services. Mr. Hanna
served in various capacities at an international oil and gas
services production company, Tetra Technologies, Inc., from 1999 to
2007. At Tetra, Mr. Hanna served in the role of Senior Vice
President. Mr. Hanna also served as President and Chief Executive
Officer for Tetra's affiliate, Maritech Resources, Inc., and
President of Tetra Applied Technologies, Inc., another Tetra
affiliate. From 1996 to 1998, Mr. Hanna served as the President and
Chief Executive Officer for Gulfport Energy Corporation, a public
oil and gas exploration company. From 1995 to 1998, he served as
the Chief Operations Officer for DLB Oil & Gas, Inc., a
mid-continent exploration public company. From 1982 to 1995, Mr.
Hanna served as President and CEO of Hanna Oil Properties, Inc., a
company engaged in the development of mid-continent oil and gas
prospects. Mr. Hanna holds a B.B.A. in Economics from the
University of Oklahoma. Charles O. Buckner - Director Mr. Buckner
is a private investor, retired from the public accounting firm of
Ernst & Young LLP in 2002 after 35 years of service in a
variety of client service and administrative roles, including
chairmanship of Ernst & Young's United States energy practice.
Mr. Buckner is a director of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc., Gateway
Energy Corporation, a mid-stream pipeline company, and Boys and
Girls Harbor in Houston, Texas. Mr. Buckner is a Certified Public
Accountant and holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of
Texas and an M.B.A. from the University of Houston. Scott A.
Griffiths - Director Mr. Griffiths has almost 30 years of
experience in the energy sector. Mr. Griffiths served as Senior
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Hydro Gulf of Mexico,
L.L.C. from December 2005 to December 2006. From 2003 through
December 2005, Mr. Griffiths served as Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer of Spinnaker Exploration Company. From 2002
to 2003, Mr. Griffiths served as Senior Vice President, Worldwide
Exploration for Ocean Energy, Inc. Mr. Griffiths joined Ocean
following the 1999 merger of Ocean and Seagull Energy Corporation,
where he worked beginning in 1997, serving as Vice President,
Domestic Exploration. From 1984 to 1997, Mr. Griffiths was with
Global Natural Resources, Inc. serving in a number of roles
including, Exploration Geologist, Chief Geologist and Exploration
Manager/Vice President of Exploration. Mr. Griffiths was also an
Exploration Geologist with the Shell Oil Company from 1981 to 1984.
Mr. Griffiths is a director of Copano Energy, LLC. He holds a B.S.
in Geology from the University of New Mexico, an M.A. in Geology
from Indiana University and completed the Advanced Management
Program at Harvard Business School. Marc McCarthy - Director Marc
McCarthy is a Vice President and Senior Analyst at Wexford Capital
LP ("Wexford") having joined them in June 2008. Previously, Mr.
McCarthy was a Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns & Co.,
Inc. (now JP Morgan) responsible for coverage of the international
oil and gas sector within their Global Equity Research department,
having joined the firm in 1997. Prior to that, he worked in equity
research at Prudential Securities, also following oil and gas. Mr.
McCarthy is a Chartered Financial Analyst and received a B.A. in
Economics from Tufts University. Wexford is a holder of the
Company's Senior Subordinated Secured PIK Notes and common stock
interests. Steven J. Pully - Director Mr. Pully is currently the
General Counsel for Carlson Capital, L.P. ("Carlson Capital") an
asset management firm. Prior to joining Carlson Capital in July
2008, Mr. Pully was a consultant, working primarily in the asset
management industry. From December 2001 to October 2007, Mr. Pully
worked for Newcastle Capital Management, L.P, an investment
partnership, where he served as President from January 2003 through
October 2007. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of New
Century Equity Holdings Corp. from June 2004 through October of
2007. Prior to joining Newcastle Capital Management, from 2000 to
2001, Mr. Pully served as a managing director in the investment
banking department of Bank of America Securities, Inc. and from
1997 to 2000 he was a member of the investment banking department
of Bear Stearns & Co. where he became a senior managing
director in 1999. Mr. Pully also serves as a director of Ember
Resources, Inc. and Cano Petroleum, Inc. Mr. Pully is licensed as
an attorney and Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas
and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst. He holds a B.S. with
honors in Accounting from Georgetown University and a J.D. degree
from the University of Texas. Carlson Capital is a holder of the
Company's Senior Subordinated Secured PIK Notes and common stock
interests. John F. Schwarz -Director Mr. Schwarz is currently a
director, president and chief executive officer of Entech
Enterprises, Inc., which holds investments and non-operated
interests in producing crude oil and natural gas properties and
leases domestically and internationally. From 1989 through 1994 Mr.
Schwarz served as director, president and chief executive officer
of Energy Development Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. and from 1982 to 1989 he
served as director, president and chief executive officer of CSX
Oil and Gas Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of CSX Corp. He
has forty-eight years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He
also formerly served as a member of the Board of Directors of
Burlington Resources Inc. and NS Group, Inc. Mr. Schwarz has a BS
in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas and is a
Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas.
Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain
forward-looking information and statements regarding EPL. Any
statements included in this press release that address activities,
events or developments that EPL expects, believes, plans, projects,
estimates or anticipates will or may occur in the future are
forward-looking statements. We believe these judgments are
reasonable, but actual results may differ materially due to a
variety of important factors. Among other items, such factors might
include: -- our ability to retain and motivate key executives and
other necessary personnel while seeking to implement our plan of
reorganization; -- changes in general economic conditions; --
uncertainties in reserve and production estimates; -- unanticipated
recovery or production problems; -- hurricane and other
weather-related interference with business operations; -- the
effects of delays in completion of, or shut-ins of, gas gathering
systems, pipelines and processing facilities; -- oil and natural
gas prices and competition; -- the impact of derivative positions;
-- production expense estimates; -- cash flow estimates; -- future
financial performance; -- planned capital expenditures; and --
other matters that are discussed in EPL's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements are based on
current expectations and projections about future events and
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors
that may cause actual results and performance to be materially
different from any future results or performance expressed or
implied by these forward-looking statements. Please refer to EPL's
filings with the SEC, including Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2008, Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31,
2009, Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2009 and
Current Reports on Form 8-K, for a discussion of these risks.
Additional Information and Where to Find It Security holders may
obtain information regarding the Company from EPL's website at
http://www.eplweb.com/, from the Securities and Exchange
Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov/, or by directing a
request to: Energy Partners, Ltd. 201 St. Charles Avenue, Suite
3400, New Orleans, Louisiana 70170, Attn: Secretary, (504)
569-1875. Contacts T.J. Thom (504-799-4830) Energy Partners, Ltd.
Media: Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher Jeremy Jacobs/Jed
Repko (212-355-4449) DATASOURCE: Energy Partners, Ltd. CONTACT:
T.J. Thom, Energy Partners, Ltd., +1-504-799-4830; or Media: Jeremy
Jacobs or Jed Repko, both of Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer
Katcher, +1-212-355-4449 Web Site: http://www.eplweb.com/
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