Oslo listed minnow, Panoro Energy, has announced that John Hamilton, its Group Chief Executive Officer, has decided to take a leave of absence for personal family reasons, effective immediately.
Julien Balkany will temporarily act as Executive Chairman and will work alongside Eric d’Argentré (COO and President), who will assume additional corporate responsibilities.
It is an unusual situation.
Mr. Hamilton, the British financing specialist, who combines executive role with chairmanship of the board of directors, is not retiring yet. That much is clear.
Only last month, Panoro appointed Eric d’Argentré, a veteran Perenco engineer/manager as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and President.
In the statement announcing Mr. Hamilton’s “temporary exit”, Panoro says it has, ”over the years built a very strong team who will provide continuity in the delivery of the group’s strategy during this period”.
Panoro Energy’s net hydrocarbon production was 11,064Barrels of Oil Per Day (BOPD) in 2Q 2025. The company is an Africa focused enterprise, with holdings in Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, South Africa and Tunisia, but while it is a non-operating partner in the most consequential producing assets in its portfolio, namely the Ceiba field/Okoume Complex in Equatorial Guinea and the Dussafu asset in Gabon, it is proving its mettle on the TPS block in Tunisia, where it performs the operational functions through their appointed managers. The asset grosses around 3,100BOPD.
