Kvaerner boss leaves to take over as CEO of Aker Energy

Jan Arve Haugan will resign as President & CEO of Kvaerner and will from March 1 2018 start his new role as CEO of the newly established oil company Aker Energy.

Idar Eikrem, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in Kvaerner, is appointed interim CEO at Kvaerner.

Haugan has been President & Chief Executive Officer with Kvaerner since its demerger from Aker Solutions and stock listing in the summer of 2011.

Aker Energy AS is a 50-50 joint venture between Aker ASA and TRG AS. The company has entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of Hess Corporation to acquire its interests in Ghana, consisting of a 50 per cent participating interest in the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points block.

Aker Energy is currently progressing a  development solution with a fast-track first-phase targeting approximately 400 million barrels. The Plan for Development and Operation will be submitted in 2018 with anticipated first oil in 2021.

“This is an oil field the size of Johan Castberg in the Barents Sea. With Jan Arve as part of the team, we will be able to keep up the pace. Focus is on safety, quality in all stages of the development, cost-effective implementation and the lowest possible production cost per barrel of oil,” said President & CEO of Aker ASA, Øyvind Eriksen.

 

Kvaerner looking for new CEO

 

Jan Arve Haugan has led Kvaerner since its demerger from Aker Solutions and stock listing in the summer of 2011.

Chairman of the Kvaerner Board, Leif-Arne Langøy said: “Under Jan Arve Haugan’s management, Kvaerner has developed into a leading, renowned oil service company with EPC services as our specialty. Competitiveness, project execution and, ultimately, the results, have continued to improve. In a demanding market cycle, Kvaerner has with Jan Arve at the helm delivered god results for 26 consecutive quarters, without negative surprises at any of them. The Board of Directors wants to express its thanks to Jan Arve for his efforts as CEO. We wish him luck with the new task he now takes on”, says

The outgoing CEO Jan Arve Haugan said: “With the emergence of Aker Energy, a new exciting opportunity materialized. In my opinion, it is a good time to hand over the torch to others. The company is solid. Kvaerner’s biggest strength is its 2 700 employees, a fantastic group of people, a solid corporate culture and two well-run facilities at Stord and in Verdal”.

The Board of Kvaerner has engaged an executive search company to assist in finding the right successor to further develop Kvaerner.

“We will evaluate both internal and external candidates. Until a new leader is in place, Idar Eikrem will be the interim CEO”, says Chairman of the Board, Langøy.

Idar Eikrem (55) joined Kvaerner in April 2016 as Executive Vice President & CFO. He has comprehensive experience from a variety of top management positions, including financial management and turn-around processes. He holds a M.Sc. in economics and business administration from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in Bergen, Norway and is state-authorized public accountant.