Further to the Company announcement of 20th October 2025 stating that Mr John Hamilton, Group CEO, had taken a leave of absence for personal reasons, Mr Hamilton has informed the Board that he will retire from the role, citing his full confidence in the wider management team and succession plan which has been put in place allowing him to make this decision.

Since his appointment in 2015, Mr Hamilton has successfully led the Company through multiple accretive acquisitions, equity and debt financings, challenging periods of macro-uncertainty including the Covid 19 pandemic, value adding development programmes and exploration successes, enabling Panoro to achieve several key milestones and establish itself as one of the leading independent upstream E&P companies active in Africa today.

To ensure continuity, the Nomination Committee has proposed the election of Mr Hamilton to the Board as non-executive director.

In line with a succession plan established by the Board, Mr Julien BALKANY will continue to act as Executive Chairman until at least the end of 2026, working closely alongside current COO and President Mr Eric d'Argentré who will assume the position of CEO from 1st January 2027.

Mr Julien Balkany will head Panoro's Executive Committee to be comprised of Mr Eric d'Argentré (Chief Operating Officer and President), Mr Qazi Qadeer (Chief Financial Officer), Mr Andrew Dymond (Head of Corporate Development) and Mr Kim Hansen (Head of Engineering).

In addition, Deputy Chairman Mr Torstein Sanness will transition to a new role becoming Emeritus Chairman. In this capacity he will continue as an observer to the Board, and oversee a newly formed Technical Committee. Mr Sanness will also join the Nomination Committee.

Julien Balkany, Chairman of Panoro, commented: 
“I would like to thank John for his exceptional leadership and for his invaluable contributions to the Company over the past eleven years. John has been instrumental in shaping Panoro into the resilient, opportunity driven African E&P company that it is today. His remarkable stewardship through transformative acquisitions, new country entries and unprecedented global events has laid a strong foundation for the years ahead. We support John in his decision to step down as CEO and welcome him as a new Board nominee.

To our shareholders and broader stakeholder community, I want to offer clear reassurance: Panoro is in very capable hands. Our succession plan has been thoughtfully developed and implemented, and the incoming executive leadership team brings deep operational expertise, financial discipline, capital markets experience and a unified vision for delivering sustainable growth and shareholder returns. With continuity at the Board, a strengthened executive team and Torstein’s continued role with the Company, Panoro is exceptionally well placed for the next exciting phase of its growth.”

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