LONDON and NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Madagascar Oil, a private oil and gas company holding the largest onshore licensed acreage in Madagascar, is pleased to announce the appointment of four new independent directors to its Board. Joining the Board are: Gary Beach, Chairman of Playa Petroleum; C. Robert Black, former Senior Vice President of Texaco Inc.; Bernard de Combret, former Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Total (TotalFinaElf); and Randy Foutch, founder and former Chairman of Latigo Petroleum Inc. The new appointees join existing Board members, who include: company founder directors Robert Nelson and Sam Malin; independent director Nordine Ait-Laoussine, former Energy Minister for Algeria, former VP of Sonatrach, former COO of Kufpec and currently President of Nalcosa; newly appointed Resident Director Lydia Boarlaza; and newly appointed joint Chief Executive Officer Alex Archila, who was until recently the President of Chevron Canada.
Robert Nelson, Chairman of Madagascar Oil, stated: "These recent appointments provide the company with a board that offers a wealth of complementary experience and expertise in the industry and corporate issues that will be invaluable in driving the strategic direction of the company."
The company has created a number of Board sub-committees so as to be fully compliant with international best practices relating to corporate governance.
About Madagascar Oil
With offices in London and Madagascar and domiciled in Bermuda, Madagascar Oil Ltd. is an oil and gas company focusing on the development of onshore heavy oil fields and exploration of onshore conventional oil and gas prospects in Madagascar. Through its subsidiaries, Madagascar Oil SA and Majunga Oil SARL, Madagascar Oil holds production sharing contracts for oil and gas exploration and development on six onshore blocks covering nearly 53,000 square kilometers in Madagascar, including the discovery heavy oil field at Tsimiroro and ultra heavy oil field at Bemolanga. Madagascar Oil and its management team are committed to supporting the country of Madagascar's efforts to develop its oil and gas resources in an efficient and environmentally sensitive manner and to contributing actively to the social and economic advancement of the island nation.