As the time draws nearer for Canadian-owned company CGX Energy Incorporated to drill its Wei-1 well in the Corentyne Block offshore Guyana, the company has undergone some major changes at the top.
These changes include the naming of a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), George Davis, who will be taking over from Hill York Poon. Poon will be retained as CGX’s Director of Finance. Meanwhile, Paul Langlois has been appointed as the new Exploration Manager.
Davis, CGX explained in a statement on Tuesday, has over 20 years of financial and leadership experience, having worked with publicly listed international companies in a variety of sectors including mining, energy, and infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the company explained that Langlois has over 18 years of exploration and development experience across multiple basins including North America, Gulf of Mexico, Middle East, Africa, Europe, and South Asia.
Langlois, according to CGX, has held various senior-level positions at Unocal, Chevron, Cobalt, and Tiburon. He was also responsible for numerous international geological assessments and field developments.
According to Gabriel de Alba, Co-Chairman of CGX’s Board of Directors, these appointments will complement the team the company has assembled to drill the Wei-1 well, which was slated to be drilled this month at a cost of approximately US$93 million.
“I am pleased to announce the appointment of George Davis as CGX’s new CFO. We are excited to have such a qualified professional fill this important executive leadership role. George’s extensive experience in senior leadership roles in finance and his demonstrated success working with public companies has helped prepare him for this critical role as CGX embarks on the drilling of the Wei-1 exploration well with its partners.
“I am also very pleased to welcome Paul Langlois to the operational team at CGX. His expertise and leadership will add to the superb team that we have assembled to drill the Wei-1 well,” de Alba further said.
Meanwhile, Executive Co-Chairman of CGX, Professor Suresh Narine was also optimistic that the management shake-up would have a positive effect on the company’s drill campaign for the Wei-1 well.
“On behalf of CGX’s Board of Directors, management and shareholders, I thank Hill York for the many contributions she made to the company in the transitionary role she has played since November 2021. Ms Poon will take up the position of Director of Finance with CGX, continuing to support the company and George in his new role as CFO. With George and Paul’s addition to the CGX team and Hill’s continuing efforts, the company is well-prepared as it embarks on the Wei-1 drilling campaign,” Narine said.
CGX and Frontera Energy Corporation, its joint venture partner, had previously commissioned an independent report which had revealed that they were potentially sitting on 4.9 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) in the Demerara and Corentyne oil blocks under their control.
In February of this year, the partners had announced an oil find of 177 feet of oil-bearing reserves at the Kawa-1 well in the Corentyne Block. Since then, however, the company has been making moves to scale back its presence in the other blocks.
It was announced that CGX had reached an agreement with the Government to relinquish larger sections of the Demerara and Corentyne Blocks, which will potentially go to auction in September.
Both the Corentyne and Demerara Blocks have been in CGX’s hands for some time without being drilled. Back in May 2019, the Strategic Joint Venture between CGX and Frontera was approved to farm in to two shallow-water offshore Petroleum Prospecting Licences for the Corentyne and Demerara Blocks.
Both of these blocks are adjacent to ExxonMobil’s Stabroek Block, where multiple discoveries have been made. The farm-in joint venture allowed Frontera to acquire a 33.333 per cent working interest in the two blocks.
