Contango Oil & Gas Company has announced the appointment of two new directors,  John C. Goff and Wilkie S. Colyer, Jr., and also announced that Allan D. Keel, President and Chief Executive Officer and a director, is leaving the Company to pursue other business interests. Mr. Colyer has been appointed Interim President and Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. At the request of the Board of Directors, Mr. Joseph J. Romano, Chairman of the Board of Contango, intends to take a more active role in the executive management and oversight of the Company in order to assist Mr. Colyer.

Mr. Goff is a private investor based in Fort Worth, Texas and co-founder and Chairman of Crescent Real Estate Holdings, a privately held real estate organization. Through family and investment entities controlled by him, Mr. Goff recently acquired approximately 18.3% of the outstanding Contango common stock. Mr. Colyer has been with Goff Capital, the family office of John C. Goff, for over ten years, where he has been responsible for the firms’ energy investments.

Mr. Romano commented, 
“We are thrilled that John Goff has made a strategic investment in Contango and become our largest shareholder. Over the last couple months, our directors have had multiple discussions with John and Wilkie regarding their investment in Contango. We were impressed by their ideas for the future of Contango and their willingness to step up and fully engage in finding solutions for current issues, improving processes and outcomes and developing new goals for this Company to increase its value to its shareholders. Wilkie brings significant expertise to the position of Interim President and CEO having been involved in numerous successful energy related investments with John.”

“On behalf of the Board we would like to thank Allan Keel for his years of service and efforts to guide the Company through a difficult period in our industry.” 

Mr. Colyer stated, 
“This Company was founded on the belief that low costs, profitability, alignment of incentives, and a contrarian mindset forge the path to superior shareholder returns.  The Company has an attractive set of assets with significant potential, but we need a lower cost structure that is aligned with our asset base.  To that end, my first order of business is to recommend a 50% reduction in the CEO’s salary to show all stakeholders that we are serious about change.  I have also made a substantial investment personally in the common shares of the Company, which aligns my interests with all shareholders.  I’m excited about this opportunity and ready to get to work.”

Mr. Goff stated, “We have followed the Contango story for some time and believe this is a very attractive platform for long term growth.  I am very confident in Wilkie’s ability to take decisive action in the short term and help craft and execute a successful long-term strategy.”

Mr. Keel has resigned from his positions as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a director of the Company effective immediately. Mr. Keel had held his positions with Contango since its merger with Crimson Exploration Inc. in October 2013.