Niko Resources Ltd., Calgary, said its Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Pres. Ed Sampson will retire at yearend. Sampson also is one of Niko’s largest individual shareholders.
With Niko 18 years, Sampson directed the company’s expansion in India and to Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Trinidad and Tobago. He will continue through yearend to assist with proposed financing and to transition responsibilities to Frederick F. Brace, Bill Hornaday, and Glen Valk, other members of Niko management.
Effective Jan. 1, 2014, Brace will become interim president, and Hornaday, chief operating officer, will have increased responsibility over all areas of operation including asset prioritization, sourcing opportunities, and personnel management. Valk’s duties weren’t specified.
Brace said the proposed $80 million credit facility will assist Niko, an asset-rich company, through the liquidity shortfall it faces.
Niko noted that the D6 block in India “is a golden block and with a combination of the doubling of India natural gas price, approvals for the development of the R and the satellites, and the upside potential of the MJ discovery (OGJ Online, May 24, 2013), focusing Niko's capital and resources on D6 will provide for significant growth in value for Niko shareholders.”