Item 5.02Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
On January 27, 2020, VAALCO Energy, Inc. (the "Company") issued a press release
announcing that it had appointed William R. Thomas, who currently serves as a
member of the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board"), as the Company's
President, effective as of February 1, 2020. As President, Mr. Thomas will be
responsible for leading the Company's strategic M&A activity. Mr. Thomas will
also retain his position as a director of the Company.
Mr. Thomas, age 64, has served as a member of the Board since April 2019. Mr.
Thomas has over 30 years of experience in the international energy industry. He
has successfully built, managed and monetized oil companies in some of the
world's most challenging environments. Mr. Thomas began his career as a
roughneck working on land and marine drilling rigs in Australia, West Texas and
Brazil while attending the University of Texas. In 1982, Mr. Thomas joined the
International Division of Pennzoil Company. In 1986, Mr. Thomas entered
investment banking with the Mergers & Acquisitions Department of Bankers Trust
Company and advised energy clients on upstream mergers and acquisitions. He
became CEO of Siberian American Oil Company, an early U.S.-Russian joint venture
in 1994, and in 1996, joined Amoco Eurasia Petroleum Company as Vice President
responsible for the Timan Pechora region of Russia. In 1998, Mr. Thomas was
appointed President and CEO of Nations Energy Company Ltd, a Canadian company
with operations in Western Kazakhstan. In 2001, Mr. Thomas was a founder and
appointed CEO of Urals Energy N.V. which became Russia's largest independent oil
company and eventually sold its production subsidiaries to LUKoil Oil
Company. He later was a founder and CEO of Urals Energy Public Company Ltd. and
led the company to a successful initial public offering on London's AIM stock
exchange in 2005. Since 2010, through his wholly-owned entity, Texas Oceanic
Petroleum Co., Mr. Thomas has negotiated acquisitions of energy and production
companies around the world, including in West Africa. Mr. Thomas graduated from
the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Economics.
The Company expects to enter into an employment agreement with Mr. Thomas at a
later date and will disclose the compensatory terms of the employment agreement
by an amendment to this Form 8-K.
Other than as described herein, there are no arrangements or understandings
between Mr. Thomas and any other persons pursuant to which he was selected to
serve as the Company's President. In addition, there are no transactions between
the Company and Mr. Thomas or his immediate family members requiring disclosure
under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act").
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
On January 27, 2020, the Company issued a press release announcing the
appointment of Mr. Thomas as the Company's President. A copy of the press
release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.
The information in Item 7.01 of this report (including Exhibit 99.1 attached
hereto) is being furnished pursuant to Item 7.01 and shall not be deemed to be
filed for the purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject
to the liabilities of that section nor shall it be deemed to be incorporated by
reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the
Exchange Act.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
Exhibit No. Description of Exhibit
99.1 Press release, dated January 27, 2020, issued by VAALCO Energy,
Inc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© Edgar Online, source Glimpses