Governance
As a Board, we have made a particular effort during 2018 to improve our dialogue and engagement with shareholders. The additional statement on the Company’s remuneration policy and Report announced and posted on the Investment Association’s Public Register in response to shareholder feedback is an indication of the Board’s commitment to such dialogue.
We will continue to review and develop our corporate governance practices in 2019 to ensure full compliance with regulatory requirements, to strive for best practice and to ensure that all our practices promote the long-term success and development of our business as a whole for the benefit of all its stakeholders and the communities in which we operate.
Leadership
Your Board rigorously challenges strategy, performance, responsibility and accountability to ensure that every decision we make is of the highest quality.
Effectiveness
Your Board continuously evaluates the balance of skills, experience, knowledge and independence of the directors.
Accountability
All of our decisions are discussed within the context of the risks involved. Effective risk management is central to achieving our strategic objectives.
Remuneration
Our remuneration policy and practices aim to attract, retain and motivate by linking reward to performance.
Relations with shareholders
The Board seeks to engage with shareholders regularly.
Statement of compliance
Nostrum fully complied throughout 2019 with the provisions of the 2018 version of the UK Corporate Governance Code except in the following respects:
Provision 11 Following the appointment of Ms Van Hecke as Chief Executive Officer on 16 December 2019 for the period of the Company’s strategic review, fewer than half of the directors, excluding the Chair, are considered by the Board to be independent directors (i.e. 3 of 7 directors). The Nomination and Governance Committee and the Board is keeping this matter under review whilst the Company recruits a new Chief Executive Officer, at which time Ms Van Hecke’s prior status as an independent director will be reviewed.
Provisions 24 and 32 Following the appointment of Ms Van Hecke as Chief Executive Officer on 16 December 2019, she was no longer considered by the Board as independent for the purposes of the Code and her continued membership of both the Audit Committee and the Remuneration Committee contravened Provisions 24 and 32 of the Code, respectively. On 27 January 2020, Ms Van Hecke stepped down as a member of the Audit Committee and the Remuneration Committee and Mr Cocker was appointed as a member of the Remuneration Committee to ensure full compliance with the Code in this respect. No additional changes needed to be made to the composition of the Audit Committee as following Ms Van Hecke’s departure as a member the Audit Committee is comprised of three independent non-executive directors in full compliance with the Code.
Provision 36 The Company’s LTIP has a total holding and vesting period of no more than three years and therefore does not comply with the requirements of Code Provision 36 which requires share awards to be released for sale on a phased basis and be subject to a total vesting and holding period of five years or more. As explained in the press release issued by the Company on 28 August 2019, a copy of which has also been published on the Public Register maintained by the Investment Association, the Board and the Remuneration Committee believe that the current provisions of the LTIP relating to the performance period and vesting period are appropriate and aligned with the interest of shareholders, so that modifying such provisions of the LTIP at this time would not be the right course of action. The full text of the announcement is available on the Company’s website.
Documents:
Transparency
Nostrum is committed to transparency in its business activities and payments to governments.
Nostrum’s payments to governments report provides an overview of the payments to governments made by Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC and its subsidiary undertakings (hereinafter referred to as “Nostrum”) in the relevent year as required under the UK’s Report on Payments to Governments Regulations 2014 (as amended in December 2015). These UK Regulations enact domestic rules in line with Directive 2013/34/EU (the EU Accounting Directive (2013)) and apply to LSE listed companies like Nostrum that are involved in the exploration, prospection, discovery, development and extraction of oil and natural gas deposits. This Report is also intended to satisfy the requirements of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom.
