Birchcliff Energy Ltd. Announces Retirement of Jeff Tonken as Chief Executive Officer and Appointment of Chris Carlsen as President and Chief Executive Officer

Birchcliff also Announces Other Executive Leadership Changes and New Board Appointment

CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (“Birchcliff” or the “Corporation”) (TSX: BIR) announces that, as part of its orderly and planned leadership succession process, Jeff Tonken will retire as Chief Executive Officer effective December 31, 2023 and Chris Carlsen, currently the President and Chief Operating Officer of Birchcliff, has been appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2024. Mr. Tonken will remain as the Chairman of the Board of Directors (the “Board”).

“On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Jeff for his invaluable contributions to the company. As one of the founders of Birchcliff, Jeff helped to create and build a resilient, dividend-paying company producing over 77,000 boe/d,” said Dennis Dawson, Birchcliff’s Independent Lead Director. “In addition to delivering significant shareholder value throughout the company’s 19-year history, Jeff has been instrumental in creating a culture at Birchcliff that has always been focused on its people, the communities where we operate and environmental stewardship, which we fully expect will continue under Chris’ leadership.”

“On behalf of the Board and everyone else at Birchcliff, I would like to congratulate Chris on his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer,” said Jeff Tonken. “The Board has dedicated significant time to ensure that Birchcliff has a strong internal succession plan in order to facilitate a seamless transition. Since he first joined Birchcliff in 2008, Chris has held increasingly senior leadership positions with the company and has been a member of our Executive Team for over 10 years. Chris has a deep understanding of our business and culture and is well known to our Board, staff, shareholders and other stakeholders. He has a proven track record of creating and executing on Birchcliff’s corporate strategy and objectives and his knowledge and experience will help Birchcliff to deliver on its strategy and achieve continued success into the future.”

As part of the Corporation’s leadership succession process, Myles Bosman, Executive Vice President, Exploration, and David Humphreys, Executive Vice President, Operations, have chosen to retire effective December 31, 2023. They have agreed to stay on as executive advisors to the Corporation for a period of time, to help ensure a seamless transition.