Leadership.

The Board of Directors has ultimate responsibility for the integrity and efficacy of all Nobel Upstream's activities.

Therefore, in addition to establishing a high-quality governance framework and business strategy, the Board of Directors also ensures that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined between shareholders, the Board and management. The Board models its corporate governance framework on the standards for good corporate governance in the UK as reflected in the UK Corporate Governance Code. The main principles of the Code are incorporated in the set of documents regulating oversight and day-to-day management of our company. The Board of Directors meets at least 4 times per year.

Larry Bates

CEO / Managing Director

Prior to his appointment at Nobel Upstream, Mr. Bates served as Vice President and Advisor to the President of OAO NK Rosneft where he oversaw international projects and business development. At Rosneft he negotiated upstream deals in partnership with ExxonMobil in the United States and Canada, Statoil in Russia and Norway, as well as refining JVs in Germany with BP and in China with CNPC. Mr. Bates also held leadership positions at BP, TNK-BP, Trinity Energy Ltd. and Baker Hughes.

Mr. Bates served as Vice President and Shareholder Business Manager of BP Russia, leading BP's operations and business development efforts with Rosneft. He oversaw Sakhalin exploration activities and advanced BP's efforts to acquire exploration licenses in the Russian Arctic.

From 2005 – 2007, Mr. Bates served in TNK-BP as Performance Unit Leader and Director of TNK-BP's first greenfield major project. Mr. Bates was previously a founding Director of Trinity Energy Ltd., an oil & gas independent where he negotiated and executed Uzbekistan's first production sharing agreement, operated oil and gas fields in Uzbekistan and Russia and marketed refined petroleum products in the region. He has also worked in the oil services sector with Baker Hughes and EVI-Weatherford, where he implemented a variety of performance contracting projects in the FSU and South American markets.

Mr. Bates received his B.S. in Economics (Magna Cum Laude) from Texas A&M University in 1989.

Ambassador Matthew Bryza

Independent Non-Executive Director

Ambassador Bryza is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and Board Member of the Jamestown Foundation, both of which are based in Washington, D.C., USA. He was Director of the International Centre for Defence and Security in Tallinn, Estonia during 2012 to 2015.

His previous assignments during a diplomatic career of 23 years included Ambassador to Azerbaijan (2011-2012), Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia (2005-2009), Director on the National Security Council Staff in the White House for Europe and Eurasia (2001-2005), Deputy Advisor to the President and Secretary of State on Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy (1998-2001), and Political Officer in the U.S. Missions to Russia (1995-1997) and Poland (1989-1991).

Ambassador Bryza resides in Istanbul, Turkey, where he also serves on the Board of Turcas Petrol and as CEO of Lamor Turkey, a Finnish-Turkish environmental solutions company.

Ambassador Bryza received a bachelor's degree in international relations from Stanford University in 1986 and a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1988.

Independent exploration and production company engaged in oil and natural gas projects in Global and us

Francis Sommer

Independent Non-Executive Director

Francis Sommer serves as a non-executive director of Nobel Oil E&P (UK) Ltd, the holding company of the Nobel Upstream group of companies. He has broad experience in the global oil and gas industry where he has been a leader in field development technology and operations over the course of a nearly thirty-year career. He has optimized developments of major oil fields in North America, South America, Russia, the UK and Europe.

Mr. Sommer is a Partner at L1 Energy responsible for the technical evaluation of new business opportunities and of L1 Energy's existing portfolio. Previously, he was a Partner at Pamplona Capital Management where he was responsible for technical evaluation and strategy in support of investing $10 billion of private equity in the global oil and gas sector.

Mr. Sommer worked for BP for twenty-seven years, most recently as Executive Vice President Technology and Senior Vice President of Technology and Operations at TNK-BP joint venture (2005-2013) and held Executive technical/managerial positions at BP in North America, South America and Europe (1986-2005). As one of five members of TNK-BP's Corporate Investment Committee (CIC), he was also responsible for all major investment decisions.

Mr. Sommer earned his MS in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, his BA in Physics from New York University, and is the author of numerous publications.

Imran Ahmadzada

Non-Executive Director

Imran Ahmadzada has extensive experience in energy, telecommunications, financial and industrial institutions.

Mr. Ahmadzada is the Member of the Board of Directors at Nobel Upstream.

He is the Group Chief Financial Officer of NEQSOL Holding and the Head of NEQSOL Holding Azerbaijan. As the Group CFO of NEQSOL Holding, he is in charge of all asset, portfolio and investment management of the holding.

Imran Ahmadzada is also a Member of the Boards of Directors at various companies within the holding, namely Nobel Energy, Norm, the largest cement producer in the South Caucasus, and Vodafone Ukraine telecommunications company.

He joined the holding as a Chief Treasury Officer at Nobel Energy group of companies in 2013. Before joining the holding, Mr. Ahmadzada worked in different roles in the banking sector since 2004 in the fields of Treasury, Risk Management, Credit Underwriting, Portfolio Management. He also worked as an Adjunct Lecturer at various Universities.

Mr. Ahmadzada is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, having successfully completed the Program for Leadership Development (PLD) in 2020. He obtained an MBA in Financial Management degree in 2009 from Coburg University in Germany.

Vugar Samadli

Non-Executive Director

Vugar Samadli is the CEO and the Member of the Board of Directors at Nobel Energy Group with over 18 years of international experience, knowledge and expertise in the oil and gas industry.

As part of his current tenure, Mr. Samadli is also a Board Member at Nobel Upstream.

Mr. Samadli had held a number of senior management roles over the past nine years. In 2013, he assumed the role of General Director of Oil & Gas ProServ, a joint venture between SOCAR, Siemens and Target Petroleum. Before joining Nobel Energy Group in 2015, he worked as General Director of Global Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of Nobel Energy Group.

He has a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Middle East Technical University, Turkey and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from University of Florida. He holds a diploma in Project Management from George Washington University and studied executive MBA with SMITH Group.

In 2019, Vugar Samadli was awarded ‘The Taraggi Medal' by the President of the Azerbaijan Republic for his services in the development of the country's oil industry.

In 2023, Mr. Samadli obtained his PhD in Chemical-Mechanical Engineering from the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences.

Management Team

Larry Bates (Chief Executive Officer)

Prior to his appointment at Nobel Upstream, Mr. Bates served as Vice President and Advisor to the President of OAO NK Rosneft where he oversaw international projects and business development. He has negotiated deals in partnership with ExxonMobil in the United States and Canada, Statoil, as well as a German refining JV with BP and CNPC in Tianjin, China. Mr. Bates also held leadership positions at BP, TNK-BP, Trinity Energy and Baker Hughes.

From 2005 – 2007, Mr. Bates served in TNK-BP as Performance Unit Leader and Director of TNK-BP's first Greenfield major project. Mr. Bates was previously founding Director of Trinity Energy Ltd., an oil & gas independent where he negotiated and executed Uzbekistan's first production sharing agreement, operated oil and gas fields in Uzbekistan and Russia and marketed refined petroleum products in the region. He has also worked in the oil services sector with Baker Hughes and EVI-Weatherford, where he implemented a variety of performance contracting projects in FSU and South American markets.

Mr. Bates received his B.A. in Economics (Magna Cum Laude) from Texas A&M University in 1989.

Huseyn Gasimov (Chief Financial Officer)

Mr. Gasimov has been a finance and business executive for over 25 years internationally. He has worked on multi-billion-dollar acquisitions, financing and business development deals. He joined Nobel Upstream as CFO in 2014 following a career at BP, where he held a variety of financial and managerial roles.

Prior to joining Nobel Upstream, Mr. Gasimov worked for BP for over 16 years. Most recently, he was a member of BP's regional leadership team in Azerbaijan where he was Head of Business Development and Commercial Operations for the ACG (Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli) oil field. He was responsible for commercial management of the ACG PSA, a BP-operated joint venture with several major international oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Statoil and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR).

During his tenure at BP, Mr. Gasimov also served as Head of Finance, Offshore Operations, Resources, Drilling & Completions and Exploration and has held other management roles in the areas of M&A, strategy, planning, performance management and corporate risk management.

Mr Gasimov earned his B.A. and M.A. in International Economic Relations from the Azerbaijan State Economic University. He is an Associate Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) as a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), and is a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), also recognized by AICPA.

In 2009, Mr. Gasimov was awarded the Tereqqi (“Progress”) Medal of the Republic of Azerbaijan by the President of Azerbaijan for his contributions to the development of the Oil and Gas Industry.

Nicholas Pogson (Head of Commercial)

Nick Pogson joined Nobel Upstream as Head of Commercial in 2017. He has 31 years of industry experience including commercial and managerial roles in the UK, Russia, Denmark, and Saudi Arabia. Immediately prior to his appointment with Nobel Upstream, he was Commercial Manager in Maersk Oil Corporate HQ in Copenhagen where he provided commercial operations and negotiation support to business development and exploration activities globally.

Mr. Pogson was Commercial Director of Endeavour Energy UK from 2010 through 2012, responsible for commercial management of the company's UK North Sea exploration, production and development portfolio. In addition to commercial management of Endeavour's existing asset portfolio, Mr. Pogson was also accountable for the negotiation of new asset acquisitions in the UK North Sea.

From 2004 to 2009, Mr. Pogson held several commercial and business development positions with TNK-BP and BP Russia in Moscow including the role of Commercial Director for RUSIA Petroleum, a TNK-BP subsidiary negotiating with Gazprom, CNCP and KOGAS to develop one of the world's largest natural gas fields. In BP Russia he provided expert commercial advice to the BP/ Rosneft JV exploration activity in Sakhalin and the Russian Arctic.

Mr. Pogson has a BSc in Applied Chemistry from Brunel University in London.

Philip Harries (Head of Engineering)

Mr. Harries has led the Nobel Upstream engineering team since 2015. A petroleum engineer with 30 years of experience in reservoir engineering, Philip was Vice President, Technical Services for NYSE listed Harvest Natural Resources before joining Nobel Upstream.

At Harvest Natural Resources Mr. Harries was responsible for leading the subsurface team for the company's worldwide exploration, production and new business activities. His portfolio included heavy oil production in Venezuela, unconventional production and development in Utah, onshore oil and gas production in West Siberia and exploration and appraisal in offshore Gabon. Prior to his 12 years with Harvest, Mr. Harries held senior technical subsurface roles with British Borneo, Hardy Oil and Gas and BHP Petroleum.

Since 2014 Mr. Harries has consulted to a number of companies on a variety of projects ranging from reservoir studies and technical advice to execution of technical due diligence in relation to asset acquisitions. Mr. Harries holds an MSc in Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College, London and a BA Hons in Engineering Science from Oxford University.

Specialist Advisors

Ian Huck (Senior Subsurface Advisor)

Mr. Huck provides subsurface expertise and advice to Nobel Upstream. A geoscientist with more than 30 years of exploration and development experience from a variety of geological provinces around the world, including both conventional and unconventional plays, Ian has a track record of finding oil and working within management teams to offer technical strategic focus and commercial expertise to advance operated projects and influence non-operated ventures.

Mr. Huck has wide experience of creating and developing New Business strategies, identifying opportunities, evaluating and capturing deals that have culminated in the discovery of hydrocarbons in the US, UK, Gabon, Angola, Brazil, Colombia and Indonesia. Ian has previously held management positions with Harvest Natural Resources (Vice President Exploration), Premier Oil (Exploration & New Ventures Manager, West Africa), Odebrecht Oil & Gas (Exploration Manager), and senior technical subsurface roles with British Borneo Oil & Gas, LASMO, Texas Eastern, Tenneco and Britoil.

Since 2014 Mr. Huck has consulted to a number of companies on a variety of projects ranging from field developments through to deep-water exploration and has provided Business Development, technical and commercial advice in relation to asset acquisitions and valuations. Mr. Huck holds an MSc in Petroleum Geology with Exploration Geophysics from Imperial College, London and a BSc in Geophysics with Geology from the University of Liverpool.

Larry Williams (Senior Reservoir Engineering Advisor)

Prior to beginning his work with Nobel Upstream in 2013, Mr. Williams served as Chief Technical Officer at Sasol Petroleum International in London before forming his consulting company in 2009. He has previously held positions of increasing authority at ConocoPhillips, Superior Oil, Transco Exploration and Ashland Exploration.

Mr. Williams provides integrated reservoir management evaluations from the subsurface through the sales meter. He is experienced in field evaluations in all major producing basins of the United States and selected areas of Africa and South America. His U.S. experience includes unconventional oil and gas plays such as the Bakken, Marcellus, Eagle Ford and the Permian Basin.

Mr. Williams holds a B.S. in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.

Lyle Lehman (Senior Completions Advisor)

Mr. Lehman has been involved in stimulation design and analysis since 1976. He currently leads an international stimulation consulting firm which specializes in the evaluation of stimulation and the optimization of completions in unconventional reservoirs. He has assisted Nobel Upstream in these endeavours since 2013.

Holder of 7 active patents and primary author of 30 articles and papers in technology as well as business and marketing-based publications, Mr. Lehman has consulted on all the fossil fuel-bearing continents. His resume includes time with Halliburton Energy Services and Pinnacle Technologies.

Mr. Lehman's past and current client base is active in the Middle East, Columbia, Argentina, Brazil, Algeria, Pakistan, Alaska's Cook Inlet, the US Mid-Continent, Poland, New Zealand, Western Australia, the Utica and the Permian Basin of the USA.

Mr. Lehman holds a B.S. in Chemistry (Qualified Program) from the University of Oklahoma.

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