RAPID CITY, S.D., May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Black Hills Corp. today announced a leadership change at its oil and gas subsidiary, Black Hills Exploration & Production. John Vering, current member of the Black Hills board of directors, has been named interim president and general manager of BHEP.
"Black Hills has been in the oil and gas business for nearly 25 years, and we continue to believe it will provide significant future value for our shareholders," said David R. Emery, chairman, president and CEO. "However, the recent performance of BHEP has been disappointing, and we are pleased that John has agreed to lead the effort to strengthen our long-term strategic plan and make improvements with an objective of achieving stronger financial and operational results."
Vering will replace current executive management for BHEP and report directly to Emery. In addition to serving as the interim president and general manager at BHEP, he will continue to serve as a Black Hills Corp. board member. He has more than 37 years experience in the oil and gas exploration and production industry. Vering held several senior executive roles, including president and CEO of Union Pacific Resources Inc., the Canadian affiliate of Union Pacific Resources Group, which was a $7 billion oil and gas company prior to its acquisition by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation in 2000. Vering has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Nebraska and is a graduate of the executive development programs at Cornell and Harvard universities.
"John brings a tremendous breadth of industry and leadership experience to this role at BHEP, and I am confident in his ability to help us deliver the long-term shareholder value that our investors expect from Black Hills' oil and gas assets," Emery said.
Black Hills Corporation
Black Hills Corp. -- a diversified energy company with a tradition of exemplary service and a vision to be the energy partner of choice -- is based in Rapid City, S.D., with corporate offices in Denver and Omaha, Neb. The company serves 763,300 natural gas and electric utility customers in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. The company's non-regulated businesses generate wholesale electricity, produce natural gas, oil and coal, and market energy. Black Hills employees partner to produce results that improve life with energy. More information is available at http://www.blackhillscorp.com/.
Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This news release includes "forward-looking statements" as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. We make these forward-looking statements in reliance on the safe harbor protections provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this news release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including statements regarding creating much stronger financial and operational results and the oil and gas business providing significant future value for our shareholders, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which we believe are reasonable based on current expectations and projections about future events and industry conditions and trends affecting our business. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to our expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that, among other things, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including the factors discussed above, the risk factors described in Item 1A of Part I of our 2009 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, and other reports that we file with the SEC from time to time.
New factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward looking statements emerge from time-to-time, and it is not possible for us to predict all such factors, or the extent to which any such factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statement. We assume no obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Black Hills Corp.
CONTACT: Jason Ketchum, +1-605-721-2765, or Media Relations,
1-866-243-9002, both of Black Hills Corp.
Web Site: http://www.blackhillscorp.com/
