Gran Tierra Energy Announces Senior Management and Board of Director Changes

Gran Tierra Energy to Provide Details on Shift in Strategy in the Near-Term

CALGARY, Feb. 2, 2015 /CNW/ -  ("Gran Tierra Energy") (NYSE MKT: GTE, TSX: GTE), a company focused on oil exploration and production in South America, today announced that the employment of its Chief Executive Officer and President Dana Coffield has been terminated.  Mr. Coffield tendered his resignation from the Board of Directors, effective today.  Mr. Coffield's resignation from the Board of Directors was not the result of any disagreement with the Board of Directors.

The Board has appointed Chief Operating Officer Duncan Nightingale, as interim President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Scott as the Executive Chair of the Board of Directors and Scott Price as the Lead Independent Director.  With these changes, Mr. Scott will become more involved in the operations of the company and provide day to day assistance to Mr. Nightingale.  Mr. Scott resigned from the Audit Committee and Mr. Price was appointed as a member to that committee.  These changes are effective immediately.

Mr. Nightingale is a 5 ½ year veteran of Gran Tierra Energy who served in the Calgary, Canada office as the Vice President of Exploration from September 2009 to January 2011, in the Bogotá, Colombia office as the Senior Manager Project Planning and Exploration from January 2011 until August 2011, as President of Gran Tierra Energy Colombia from August 2011 until August 2014, and was promoted to Gran Tierra Energy's Chief Operating Officer on September 1, 2014.

Mr. Scott was a founder of Gran Tierra Energy and has served as the Chairman of the Board of Gran Tierra Energy since January 2005.  Since 2001, Mr. Scott has served as President of Postell Energy Co. Ltd., a privately held oil and gas producing company.  He has extensive oil and gas management experience, beginning as a production manager of Postell Energy Co. Ltd in 1985 advancing to President in 2001.  Also, since February 2012, Mr. Scott has served as Executive Chairman of Sulvaris Inc., a private fertilizer technology company. Mr. Scott is also currently a director of Petromanas Energy Inc. He was previously a director of Tuscany International Drilling Inc., Essential Energy Services Trust, Suroco Energy, Inc., VGS Seismic Canada Inc., High Plains Energy Inc., Saxon Energy Services Inc. and Galena Capital Corp., all of which are publicly-traded companies.

Mr. Nightingale said: "I'm excited about my new position with the company and honored the Board has selected me for this position.  I recognize, however, that it is not business as usual." 

Mr. Scott said: "The Board feels it is time to re-examine the company's strategy.  These are very challenging times and while we have a large inventory of opportunities and significant financial capacity, we believe it is unwise to accelerate certain opportunities in the current pricing environment.  We will update the market as to this shift in our strategy in the near-term."

About Gran Tierra Energy Inc.

Gran Tierra Energy is an international oil and gas exploration and production company, headquartered in Calgary, Canada, incorporated in the United States, trading on the NYSE MKT (GTE) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (GTE), and operating in South America. Gran Tierra Energy holds interests in producing and prospective properties in Colombia, Peru, and Brazil. Gran Tierra Energy has a strategy that focuses on establishing a portfolio of producing properties, plus production enhancement and exploration opportunities to provide a base for future growth.

Gran Tierra Energy's Securities and Exchange Commission filings are available on a web site maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov and on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com.

SOURCE Gran Tierra Energy Inc.

For investor and media inquiries please contact: Jason Crumley, Director, Investor Relations, 403-265-3221, [email protected], www.grantierra.com