Aker Energy announces transition of leadership and adjusted composition of the Board of Directors

Aker Energy today announced that the Board of Directors has named Svein Jakob Liknes, most recently Aker Energy’s Head of Operations, to acting Chief Executive Officer following the decision by Jan Arve Haugan to resign. In parallel, adjustments are made to the company’s Board of Directors.

“Aker Energy continues the effort to optimize and safeguard the Pecan project in close collaboration with Ghanaian authorities. As Aker Energy is preparing for the next phase with PDO approval followed by project execution as the main tasks, Jan Arve Haugan is stepping down and Svein Jakob Liknes has been named acting CEO. Svein Jakob Liknes has extensive experience both from projects and operations and he has worked closely on the Pecan PDO process, making him the right fit to lead Aker Energy,” said Øyvind Eriksen, President and Chief Executive Officer at Aker ASA.

“I want to thank Jan Arve Haugan for his leadership and relentless work in building a complete exploration and field development organization in Aker Energy. At the same time, we appreciate the opportunity to maintain our strong and long-lasting collaboration with Jan Arve Haugan in his capacity as board member in Kværner as well as in existing and new projects,” said Eriksen.

Svein Jakob Liknes has served as Aker Energy’s Head of Operations, overseeing the company’s current Plan of Development and Operations (PDO) process. Prior to joining Aker Energy, Liknes held the position as SVP Operations & Asset Development in Aker BP. The appointment to acting CEO is effective immediately and will remain in effect until further notice.

In parallel with the leadership transition, the composition of the Board of Directors will be changed in both Aker Energy and TRG Energy, the owner of AGM Petroleum in Ghana and in which Kjell Inge Røkke is the main shareholder, to strengthen the two companies and better reflect that they will continue to operate as separate entities also in the next phase. The main task for TRG Energy is to quantify discoveries, including by drilling new appraisal wells. Aker Energy will continue as a service provider to TRG Energy. In addition to the reallocation of board members between TRG Energy and Aker Energy, Ms. Rosalind Kainyah has decided to resign from the Board of Aker Energy, and will continue to offer her support through her consultancy business. The new board compositions are as follows:

Aker Energy: