New DEA CEO: "Adapt and adjust" (FOTO)

Hamburg (ots) -

Maria Moraeus Hanssen announces a time for change on her first day
as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Management of DEA Deutsche Erdoel
AG.

"I am starting at DEA in a very interesting time for the company
and for the business as a whole. My main task going forward will be
to make sure that we continue to operate safely and deliver on
business goals while we adapt to new conditions, in parallel with the
talks between LetterOne and BASF to merge DEA and Wintershall," says
Maria Moraeus Hanssen.

Moraeus Hanssen joins DEA at a time where both the company and the
oil and gas industry are facing significant changes. The changing
energy markets are leading to structural changes, and early in
December DEA's owners LetterOne and BASF signed a Letter of Intent to
merge DEA and Wintershall, creating a stronger Germany-based
independent oil and gas company. Discussions towards a final
agreement are ongoing. She underlines that the most important task
for DEA is to continue running its production and projects in a way
that creates value.

DEA's new CEO expresses her pride of being part of the oil and gas
industry, but acknowledges that the industry faces changes: "DEA's
most important asset is the competency of our employees, that will be
of great importance also in a merged company. Over the years, DEA's
employees have shown an impressive ability to get the most out of the
asset portfolio. By continuing and further developing these efforts,
DEA will be able to adapt to a world with a more diversified energy
market."

Moraeus Hanssen: "It is not immoral to explore, develop and
produce oil and gas. It is difficult and challenging, and for many,
many years, oil and gas will still be a prerequisite for keeping the
society going. Oil and gas companies' biggest challenge is still not
declining demand, but how to find more oil and gas to compensate for
the natural decline from existing fields."

"We need to explore, develop and produce at lower costs, increased
efficiency and with less impact on climate and environment. The oil
and gas industry needs to take an active role in the ongoing energy
transition. Digitalization and increased focus on technology
throughout the business will be some of the levers to help us on this
way", she says.

Before joining DEA, Maria Moraeus Hanssen had been working as CEO
of ENGIE E&P International and Head of E&P Business Unit in the ENGIE
Group in Paris for the last two years. She looks back to a broad
spectrum of jobs in management and operations in the Norwegian Oil
and gas industry such as Investment Director, Aker ASA (2008 - 2013),
Senior Vice President Gas Supply and Infrastructure, Statoil ASA
(2007 - 2008), Vice President / Offshore Installation Manager, Hydro
ASA (2006 - 2007) to name but a few.

Moraeus Hanssen graduated in "Petroleum Economics and Management"
from IFP School - Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des
Moteurs, Paris, in 1992 and holds a degree in "Petroleum Engineering"
from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU),
Trondheim, in 1989. Moraeus Hanssen is also the Deputy Chairman, and
the leader of the Audit Committee, of the Supervisory Board of Yara
International, a global leader in nitrogen-based fertilizer
production.

Contacts:

Uwe-Stephan Lagies
Head of Corporate Communications
T +49 40 6375 2511
M +49 162 273 2511

Frank Meyer
Manager External Communications
T +49 40 6375 2759
M +49 162 273 2559

DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG | Corporate Communications | Überseering 40 |
22297 Hamburg
T +49 40 6375-2159 | F +49 40 6375-3162 | E press@dea-group.com

Original-Content von: DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, übermittelt durch news aktuell