Mr Friedland will assume the positions to guide the company through a major corporate and management restructuring in preparation for the implementation of multiple, full-scale, commercial heavy-oil projects in Canada and across the world.

The restructuring is planned to enhance Ivanhoe Energy’s pursuit of its central mission to develop heavy-oil assets using its proprietary, heavy-to-light (HTL) oil-upgrading technology.

As part of the reorganization, Ivanhoe Energy will establish a number of geographically focused, self-funding entities. The parent company Ivanhoe Energy is expected to aggressively pursue HTL opportunities in the Athabasca oil sands of western Canada and will hold and manage the core HTL technology.