Cooper Energy CFO calls it quits

Australian exploration and production company Cooper Energy has informed that its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Joint Company Secretary, Jason de Ross, will be leaving the company from December 9, 2016.

According to a statement by Cooper Energy on Wednesday, David Maxwell, Managing Director at Cooper Energy, said de Ross, who started employment in September 2012, has played an important role in the company’s relocation to Adelaide and its strategic growth.

More recently, de Ross has supported the company’s gas strategy, which included the recent agreement to acquire Santos’ Victorian Gas Assets, and had been involved in Cooper Energy’s two capital raisings in 2016.

The company will initiate an external search process for the new CFO.

“Jason’s work in establishing a new finance team and systems and his oversight of our finance and administration, particularly during the challenges of the low oil prices of the past two years, has been invaluable to Cooper Energy,” Maxwell said.

Cooper also said that, the independent corporate advisory group Grant Samuel, who has provided advice to the company over the past 3 years through the implementation of its gas strategy, will continue to provide capital management analysis and advice to senior management and the Board of Directors, with finalization of funding to enable a final investment decision on the Sole Gas Project off Australia in the March quarter of 2017 being a key objective.

The company recently entered into a gas sales agreement with Alinta Energy for the supply of gas from the Sole field and agreed to buy 50 percent interest in the Sole field (VIC/RL3) in the Gippsland Basin and the Orbost gas plant from its partner Santos.