LONDON, UK, February 20, 2025 – Pantheon Resources plc (AIM:PANR) (“Pantheon” or the “Company”), is pleased to announce the appointment of accomplished energy executive, Max Easley, as Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Jay Cheatham. Mr. Easley will be appointed as a member of the Pantheon Board of Directors effective 28 February 2025, while Mr. Cheatham will continue to serve the Company as a Non-Executive Director for a period of handover to Mr. Easley. Preng & Associates assisted with the search and placement of this position.
A native-born Alaskan, Mr. Easley brings over thirty years of experience as a highly respected energy executive, drawing on extensive domestic and international experience in the upstream industry. Over the course of his career, Mr. Easley has held executive rolls at BP, Apache Corporation and PETRONAS Canada.
Mr. Easley graduated from the University of Alaska in 1991 with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. Following his early days learning his trade as a petroleum engineer at Prudhoe Bay, he worked overseas for over a decade, primarily in the UK and Trinidad, in a variety of technical, financial and leadership roles before returning to Alaska as Senior Vice President of Resource Development for BP Alaska. Over the past decade, he has been a driving force in the capital efficient appraisal, development and production of unconventional resources both in the Permian Basin in Texas and the Montney in British Columbia.
The appointment of Mr. Easley is another key step in the development of the Board and governance in preparation for a possible US listing. The Company expects to evolve the Board further as it executes on this strategy.
David Hobbs, Executive Chairman of Pantheon Resources, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Max Easley as our new Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors. Pantheon will benefit from his more than 30 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry, particularly his experience on Alaska’s North Slope and successful Permian and Montney developments. This deep industry expertise, coupled with his strategic judgment and performance track record make him the ideal candidate to execute upon Pantheon’s strategy. Under Max’s leadership, the Company will be well positioned to shift from an exploration to a development and production company in short order.”
“I also want to express my personal gratitude to Jay Cheatham, who was a key member of the search committee. Jay has been a well-respected colleague, friend and key to the Company’s successes to-date. We would not be where we are but for his calm determination since he was appointed some 17 years ago. Jay embodies the maxim: ‘Adversity does not build character; it reveals it.’ Few could have shown more grit, and Jay hands over a Pantheon that is primed to deliver on what we consider the most exciting development programme anywhere in North America.”
Max Easley, incoming Chief Executive Officer of Pantheon Resources, said: “I appreciate the confidence the Board of Directors has shown in selecting me to lead Pantheon at this critical inflection point in the Company’s history. Jay and the team have done a fantastic job exploring, appraising and de-risking a material resource in a very advantaged location. I look forward to transitioning the company to development and production of these resources at pace for the benefit of both our shareholders, and the State of Alaska.”
About Pantheon Resources
Pantheon Resources plc is an AIM listed Oil & Gas company focused on developing its 100% owned Ahpun and Kodiak fields located on State of Alaska land on the North Slope, onshore USA. Independently certified best estimate contingent recoverable resources attributable to these projects currently total c. 1.6 billion barrels of ANS crude and 6.6 Tcf (trillion cubic feet) of associated natural gas. The Company owns 100% working interest in c. 259,000 acres.
Pantheon’s stated objective is to demonstrate sustainable market recognition of a value of $5-$10/bbl of recoverable resources by end 2028. This is based on bringing the Ahpun field forward to FID and producing into the TAPS main oil line (ANS crude) by the end of 2028. The Gas Sales Precedent Agreement signed with AGDC (Alaska Gasline Development Corporation) provides the potential for Pantheon’s natural gas to be produced into the proposed 807 mile pipeline from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska during 2029. Once the Company achieves financial self-sufficiency, it will apply the resultant cashflows to support the FID on the Kodiak field planned, subject to regulatory approvals, targeted by the end of 2028 or early 2029.
A major differentiator to other ANS projects is the close proximity to existing roads and pipelines which offers a significant competitive advantage to Pantheon, allowing for shorter development timeframes, materially lower infrastructure costs and the ability to support the development with a significantly lower pre-cashflow funding requirement than is typical in Alaska. Furthermore, the low CO2 content of the associated gas allows export into the planned natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska without significant pre-treatment.
The Company’s project portfolio has been endorsed by world renowned experts. Netherland, Sewell & Associates estimate a 2C contingent recoverable resource in the Kodiak project that total 1,208 mmbbl (million barrels) of ANS crude and 5,396 bcf (billion cubic feet) of natural gas. Cawley Gillespie & Associates estimate 2C contingent recoverable resources for Ahpun’s western topset horizons at 282 mmbbl of ANS crude and 803 bcf of natural gas. Lee Keeling & Associates estimated possible reserves and 2C contingent recoverable resources totalling 79 mmbbl of ANS crude and 424 bcf natural gas.
For more information visit www.pantheonresources.com.
SOURCE: Pantheon Resources PLC
