Ophir CFO Departs, Cost-Cutting cited

Ophir Energy's chief financial officer, Lisa Mitchell, will leave the company on Nov. 19 after her job was made redundant as part of a cost-saving reorganisation of the board announced in August, the company said on Friday.

The oil explorer decided to cut the number of executive board members from three to two in a bid to slash expenses, as it tried to lift its share price from a three-year low.

Mitchell stood down from the board on Friday and will be paid for her 12-month notice period which started on Sept. 5, Ophir said. The group has yet to name a new finance chief who will not have a board position.

Mitchell will be paid a maximum 284,010 pounds ($456,800) in salary during her notice period, as well as a statutory redundancy payment of just over 2,000 pounds and an as-yet undetermined 2014 bonus depending on the company's performance.

Her payments will be reduced if she secures another job during her notice period.

Ophir's director of strategy Dennis McShane is still expected to step down from his executive role before the end of the year, a spokesman for the company said.

Reporting by Karolin Schaps