Venari Resources Announces Appointment of Senior Executive and Independent Board Members

DALLAS and HOUSTON, Feb. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Venari Resources LLC, a deepwater oil exploration company in the Gulf of Mexico, today announced the appointment of Richard L. Smith as Executive Vice President of Exploration, and Steven P. Evans and Brian F. Maxted as independent members of the Board of Directors.  

Mr. Smith joins Venari with 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, most recently serving as Executive Vice President of Exploration and Business Development at Stone Energy Corporation. While at Stone, Mr. Smith established and executed the exploration program strategy and built a top-tier deepwater exploration team. Previously, Mr. Smith served as Deepwater General Manager for Dominion E&P in New Orleans where he was instrumental in that company's efforts in building a substantial position in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Dominion drilled 24 successful exploration wells and established first production from 22 of them prior to the company exiting E&P and divesting the deepwater assets for more than $4 billion. Mr. Smith also held positions at Texaco USA and Exxon Corporation earlier in his career. He holds a master's degree in geology and a bachelor's degree in oceanography, both from Texas A&M University.

Brian Reinsborough, Chief Executive Officer and President of Venari, commented, "Rich's expansive deepwater experience and proven track record, coupled with his leadership, vision and integrity, is an excellent addition to our senior leadership team."

Mr. Evans is a former Chevron Corporation executive who held the position of General Manager, North America Exploration until retiring in September 2012 after a 31-year career with Chevron and Texaco. In this role, Mr. Evans was responsible for leading exploration activities in the shelf and deep water Gulf of Mexico, onshore United States, onshore and offshore the Atlantic Coast in Canada, and Alaska, with annual budgets ranging from $500 million to $1.2 billion. He received a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from Penn State University, and is a recognized industry expert in risk assessment and portfolio management.

Mr. Maxted is Chief Executive Officer, Chief Exploration Officer, Director and Founding Partner of Kosmos Energy. He is a leading explorationist with an impressive record of deepwater discoveries and worldwide experience in the upstream petroleum business. Mr. Maxted directed Kosmos' exploration-led strategy, which resulted in the discovery of the Jubilee oil field offshore Ghana, one of West Africa's most prolific finds in the last decade. Before co-founding Kosmos in 2003, Mr. Maxted was Senior Vice President of Exploration for Triton Energy, where he led a series of discoveries offshore Equatorial Guinea. Mr. Maxted holds a master's degree in organic geochemistry and petrology from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Sheffield. 

Mr. Reinsborough added, "Steve and Brian's expertise and superb business acumen will be a tremendous asset to Venari's Board. We are delighted to have them join us." He continued, "With Venari's talented team of explorationists, engineers and commercial specialists, along with our use of advanced technology and significant financial support, I look forward to working with them to build Venari into an E&P leader in the Gulf of Mexico."

About Venari Resources
Venari Resources, a privately held offshore exploration company founded in 2012 by deepwater E&P expert Brian Reinsborough, is focused on the prolific oil-prone subsalt region in the Gulf of Mexico's deep waters. In May 2012, pre-eminent global investment firms Warburg Pincus, Kelso & Company, Temasek and The Jordan Company provided an initial $1.125 billion capital commitment so Venari can pursue its aggressive exploration program and development projects in the Gulf of Mexico. The Company is headquartered in Dallas and has an additional office location in Houston. For more information, visit www.venariresources.com.

Media Contact:
Venari Resources LLC
Adam Rubin
972-850-5324
[email protected]

SOURCE Venari Resources LLC