Pantheon Resources announces new Houston-based finance chief

Alaska-focussed oil and gas explorer Pantheon Resources announced changes to its board on Monday, with the appointment of Philip Patman Jr as its new chief financial officer.

The AIM-traded company holds a 100% working interest in both the Kodiak and Ahpun fields, which contain independently evaluated recoverable contingent resources of approximately 1.6 billion barrels of crude oil and 6.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

It said that as part of its strategy to monetise the resources, it planned to initiate development of the Ahpun field to achieve cash flow self-sufficiency, which would, in turn, fund the full development of both fields, including Kodiak.

A key component of the plan involved consolidating core management at the company's Houston headquarters, and preparing for a potential listing on a major US stock exchange, subject to market conditions.

In alignment with the strategic shift, the CFO role would be relocated to Houston.

As a result, Justin Hondris, director of finance and corporate development and a founding board member, announced his intention to step down from his board position at the upcoming September meeting.

The board said Hondris had been instrumental in the company's growth over the last two decades, managing fundraising activities totaling around $300m.

He would transition to a UK-based role as senior vice-president for finance and international investment.

Philip Patman Jr would bring almost 30 years of experience in business development, corporate finance, and financial management to his new role as CFO, the board added.

His previous positions included serving as CFO for Vaalco Energy, Soluna Holdings, and MacroFab.

Patman is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the CFA Institute.

Before his appointment, Patman had been leading Pantheon's preparations for a potential US listing, focusing on strengthening corporate and financial controls and securing investment banking advisors with success-based fee structures.

His efforts were focussed on positioning the company to quickly capitalise on market opportunities as they arise.

Pantheon noted that, consistent with common practice among US-based companies, the CFO position would not be a board-level role.

“It is hard to overestimate the value of Justin's contribution to Pantheon's success - it is inconceivable that the merger with Great Bear could have occurred without his entrepreneurial approach to structuring that transaction and it is no understatement to say that this single most significant event in Pantheon's history is, in large part, a product of Justin's dedication and hard work,” said executive chairman David Hobbs.

“We are grateful to retain Justin's talents and will continue to benefit from the value that he brings in his new role.

“We are excited to welcome Philip to his new role - he has been engaged in the various work streams that will result in robust systems and processes, and he will be able to hit the ground running as our new CFO.”

At 1101 BST, shares in Pantheon Resources were down 0.46% at 15.83p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.