Philip Birch Joins the Oregen Strategic Advisory Board
May 11, 2026, Vancouver, British Columbia – Oregen Energy Corp (CSE: ORNG) (OTCQB: OGREF) (FSE: A1S0) (“Oregen” or the “Company”) is very pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Philip Birch as a Strategic Advisor to the Company, effective immediately.
The appointment follows Oregen’s April 7, 2026 announcement that it had executed a non‑binding Letter of Intent (“LOI”) to evaluate opportunity in the share capital of Petrovena Energy (Pty) Ltd., its local partner, which has been issued an award letter to enter into a Petroleum Agreement and be granted a license on Block 2812Ab in Namibia’s Orange Basin. Block 2812Ab is directly adjacent to TotalEnergies’ Block 2913B (PEL 56), which hosts the Venus discovery, one of the most significant offshore oil discoveries made globally in recent years.
Block 2812Ab lies on the same Upper Cretaceous deep‑marine clastic fairway as Venus and other recent Orange Basin oil discoveries, providing direct geological read‑through to a proven petroleum system. Oregen believes this adjacency materially enhances the block’s strategic and technical relevance as the basin advances toward development planning and Final Investment Decisions.
Mr. Birch is a highly respected petroleum geoscientist and exploration executive with decades of international experience in global frontier basin exploration and deepwater petroleum systems. He most recently served as Exploration Director at Impact Oil & Gas, where he played a pivotal role in building the company’s Namibia offshore portfolio and in the identification and maturation of the Venus prospect prior to its successful drilling by TotalEnergies in 2022.
At Impact Oil & Gas, Mr. Birch was instrumental in the licensing of the Impact Oil and Gas Namibia blocks, the identification and de-risking of the Venus prospect, and its farm-out to TotalEnergies ahead of the Venus discovery well. He retired from the Impact Oil & Gas board in 2025 following the successful further farm‑down of the asset and the establishment of a clear development pathway.
As Strategic Advisor to Oregen, Mr. Birch will provide guidance on exploration strategy, subsurface evaluation, seismic interpretation, prospect generation, and technical positioning, with a particular focus on Block 2812Ab and the broader Orange Basin fairway.
Mason Granger, CEO of Oregen Energy Corp., commented:
“Our decision to pursue an investment in Block 2812Ab was driven by its direct adjacency to the Venus discovery and its position within the same proven geological fairway. Philip Birch was the key technical architect behind Venus, and his involvement with Oregen directly reflects our significant commitment to our strategy in the Orange Basin. Philip’s experience in building, de‑risking, and advancing one of the world's most important offshore petroleum provinces gives us a level of technical perspective and credibility that is exceptionally rare for a company at our stage. His deep familiarity with the Orange Basin's geology and regional play fairway is an exceptional asset as we advance our 2812Ab evaluation.”
Mr. Phil Birch added:
“Oregen’s entry into Block 2812Ab is a highly logical and compelling extension of the Orange Basin play system. The block sits directly on trend with PEL 56 and benefits from substantial geological read‑through from nearby discoveries. I am pleased to be joining Oregen at this stage and look forward to supporting the Company as it evaluates and advances its Orange Basin portfolio in a disciplined and technically rigorous manner.”
Mr. Birch’s appointment strengthens Oregen’s strategic and technical advisory capabilities at a pivotal time as the Company evaluates its potential investment in Block 2812Ab and continues to build a concentrated, high‑quality Orange Basin portfolio. Mr. Birch's advisory role with Oregen is based on his extensive regional expertise and geological knowledge of the Orange Basin fairway.
About Oregen Energy Corp.
Oregen is an investment company primarily focused on oil and gas assets in Africa. The Company is actively exploring other investment opportunities in the Orange and surrounding basins. Its current flagship investment is 33.95% net interest in Block 2712A in the Orange Basin offshore Namibia, an emerging world-class petroleum province with multiple recent discoveries by major operators.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
Mason Granger
Chief Executive Officer & Director
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T: 604.737.2303
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The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release includes certain statements and information that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainty affecting the business of Oregen. Such statements can generally, but not always, be identified by words such as “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “schedules”, “prepares”, “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will”, “would”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur. All statements that describe the Company’s plans relating to operations and potential strategic opportunities are forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. These statements address future events and conditions and are reliant on assumptions made by the Company’s management, and so involve inherent risks and uncertainties, as disclosed in the Company’s periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, and the assumptions underlying the forward-looking information, actual results could materially differ from those currently projected, and there is no representation by Oregen that the actual results realized in the future will be the same in whole or in part as those presented herein. Oregen disclaims any intent or obligation to update forward-looking statements or information except as required by law. Readers are referred to the additional information regarding Oregen's business contained in Oregen’s reports filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that could cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. For more information on Oregen and the risks and challenges of its business, investors should review Oregen’s filings that are available at www.sedarplus.ca.
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