|
Item
5.02 (c) and (d)
|
Appointment
of Certain Officers and Directors.
|
Aurora
Oil & Gas Corporation (“AOG”) today announced that its board of directors
has named John E. McDevitt (age 61) to serve as the company’s President, Chief
Operating Officer and Director effective as of January 22, 2008.
Mr.
McDevitt has over 40 years of experience in a variety of industries, including
oil and gas exploration and production, real estate development and finance,
equipment leasing and finance, investment banking and lending, computer software
development, wholesale distribution of products, and television and radio
production.
Since
2006, Mr. McDevitt has been a Manager and President of Acadian Energy,
LLC
,
a
private company focused on unconventional natural gas exploration and production
in the New Albany Shale.
From
2003 to 2007, Mr. McDevitt was President of CDX Resources, a rig fleet and
directional services company that was owned by CDX Gas, LLC. Prior to that,
he
held positions with CDX Gas, LLC as CFO and Senior Vice President of Strategic
Planning. CDX Gas, LLC was
an
independent oil and gas company focused on the onshore exploration and
production of unconventional natural gas, which
was sold
in 2006. Mr. McDevitt’s initial salary will be $250,000 per year with additional
incentives to be negotiated later.
The
board
of directors has also named Barbara E. Lawson (age 49) as Chief Financial
Officer effective as of January 22, 2008. Ms. Lawson has over 26 years of
progressive accounting experience and has managed all facets of accounting,
finance, internal audit, and treasury. She has worked for AOG since March
2006
as SEC Reporting Manager. From 2005 to 2006, Ms. Lawson was Vice President
of
Simple Financial Solutions, Inc. providing consulting services that covered
public equity offerings and Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 implementation. From
1988
to 2004, Ms. Lawson was employed with Midland Cogeneration Venture, LLP,
an
independent power producer, where her last position was Treasurer and Manager
of
Internal Audit. In connection with Ms. Lawson’s promotion, her annual salary
will increase to $150,000 per year with additional incentives to be negotiated
later.
The
board
of directors has also named Gilbert A. Smith (age 60) as Vice President of
Business Development effective as of February 1, 2008. Mr. Smith has
nearly 38 years of domestic and international oil and gas experience with
expertise in land management, negotiations and government relations. Since
January 2007, Mr. Smith has been a Manager and Chief Operating Officer of
Acadian Energy, LLC. From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Smith was Vice President of Land
and
Contract Administration for CDX Gas, LLC. From 1999 to 2001, Mr. Smith worked
as
a independent consultant
,
performing international strategic contract negotiation and business
development.
Mr.
Smith
worked for
Sun
Exploration and Production Company (subsequently named Oryx Energy
Company)
from 1978 through 1999 where he served in various senior
management positions.
Mr.
Smith’s initial salary will be $200,000 per year with additional incentives to
be negotiated later.
AOG
has
signed a non-binding Letter of Intent to acquire Acadian Energy, LLC by means
of
a merger into AOG. Mr. McDevitt (through a controlled entity) and Mr. Smith
are
the sole members of Acadian Energy, LLC (60% and 40% respectively) . The
proposed acquisition is valued at approximately $12.5 million and will include
over 10,000 acres of New Albany Shale properties, 4 development wells, and
approximately 7 bcf in proved reserves.
|
Item
5.02 (b) and (e)
|
Departure
of Certain Officers and Directors; Amendment to Contract.
|
Ronald
E.
Huff has resigned as President, Chief Financial Officer and Director of AOG
effective January 21, 2008. Mr. Huff’s employment agreement will be honored by
AOG through its June 18, 2008 termination date. However, this agreement has
been
modified to accelerate the award of Mr. Huff’s stock bonus in the amount of
500,000 shares of common stock from January 1, 2009 to June 18, 2008.
Mr.
John
V. Miller has submitted his resignation as Vice President of Business
Development of AOG, to be effective January 31, 2008.
A
copy of
the press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this report.