Venoco, Inc. Announces CFO Changes

DENVER, Jan. 31  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Venoco, Inc.  today announced that David B. Christofferson, Chief Financial Officer, will be retiring from Venoco.  Mr. Christofferson has served as Venoco's CFO since 2004.  He was previously CFO of Marquez Energy LLC, which he joined shortly after its formation in 2002.  Concurrently, the company also announced that Timothy A. Ficker will be joining the company as the new CFO.  Mr. Ficker currently serves as the CFO of Infinity Energy Resources, Inc.
"It has been a pleasure to work with David these past five years," said Tim Marquez, Venoco's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  "David was instrumental in Venoco's recent successful initial public offering in November and has built a solid financial and accounting team from scratch.  We will miss him."
One of Mr. Christofferson's first tasks at Venoco was to complete a $150 million high-yield notes offering in December 2004.  In March of 2006, Mr. Christofferson successfully arranged the financing for the company's $456 million acquisition of TexCal Energy LLC.  He also formed and led the company's Sarbanes-Oxley team in addition to bringing all of the out-sourced accounting functions in-house.
"As one of the employee-shareholders, I have a vested interest in the continued success of Venoco and in making a smooth transition with a well-qualified replacement," Mr. Christofferson said.  "We have a strong accounting and financial team who I will miss, but they are a resource that should serve Venoco well as it continues to grow."
Mr. Marquez commented on the incoming CFO, "We are fortunate to be able to announce at this same time David's replacement -- Venoco's incoming Chief Financial Officer, Tim Ficker," Mr. Marquez said.  "His experience as CFO of a publicly traded company as well as his Big Four public accounting firm background will allow him to step in and do well with the demands and opportunities of our growing company."
"This is an exciting opportunity -- Venoco is a dynamic, young company with a solid asset and financial base in an industry that is ripe with opportunity," commented Mr. Ficker.  "I look forward to working with the Venoco team."
Mr. Ficker has been the CFO of Infinity since May of 2005 and served on the senior executive management team which was responsible for all management reporting and analysis, accounting, tax, treasury and risk functions of a publicly traded oil and gas E&P company.  Prior to joining Infinity, he was with KPMG LLP in Denver for three years and with Arthur Andersen LLP in Denver and Houston for more than twelve years.  Mr. Ficker was an Audit Partner in the firms' energy practice responsible for setting and executing strategic plans.  He consulted on numerous public mergers/acquisitions as well as debt and equity registration statements.  He has a BS in Business Administration from Texas A&M University, is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as the Colorado and Texas Societies of CPAs.
"I am glad to know the company's financial operations will be in Tim's able hands," said retiring CFO, David Christofferson.
About the Company
Venoco is an independent energy company primarily engaged in the acquisition, exploitation and development of oil and natural gas properties in California and Texas.  It has headquarters in Denver, Colorado and regional offices in Carpinteria, California and Houston, Texas.  Venoco operates three offshore platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel, has non-operated interests in three other platforms, operates two onshore properties in Southern California, has extensive operations in Northern California's Sacramento Basin and operates twelve fields in the Texas Gulf Coast and South Texas.
Forward-looking Statements
Statements made in this news release relating to Venoco's future growth and development are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  These statements are based on assumptions and estimates that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information; however, management's assumptions and the company's future performance are both subject to a wide range of business risks and uncertainties and there is no assurance that these goals and projections can or will be met.  Any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the company's ability to acquire properties that meet its objectives, the timing and extent of changes in oil and gas prices, changes in underlying demand for oil and gas, the timing and results of drilling activity, the availability and cost of obtaining drilling equipment and technical personnel, delays in completing production, the availability of treatment and transportation facilities and higher than expected production costs and other expenses.  Further information on risks and uncertainties is available in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are incorporated by this reference as though fully set forth herein.
Venoco, Inc.