Arizona Tribune - Barnwell Adds Capital Markets and Operating Expertise

Phil McPherson and Craig Hopkins Elected to the Board

HONOLULU, HI / ACCESS Newswire / September 23, 2025 / Barnwell Industries, Inc. (NYSE American:BRN) ("Barnwell" or the "Company") today announced the election of Philip J. McPherson and Craig D. Hopkins to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.

"These appointments strengthen our governance and deepen our finance leadership as we continue to execute on Barnwell's strategy," said Craig Hopkins, Chief Executive Officer of Barnwell. "My knowledge of the company through being President and CEO, along Phil's capital markets experience and prior Board service, will be invaluable in allowing the board to make the significant and required changes to improve our profitability."

About Craig Hopkins

Craig Hopkins has served as Chief Executive Officer of Barnwell since April 1, 2024, after previously holding leadership roles as President and Chief Operating Officer in two of Barnwell's Canadian subsidiaries. With nearly 30 years of experience in the energy industry, Craig combines deep technical expertise with strategic acumen and a proven ability to execute transactions that create long-term value. An engineer by training, he has built and led teams in both large and emerging oil producers, with a career spanning project management, reservoir evaluation, infrastructure development, and energy production and operations. Beyond his technical strengths, Craig is recognized for his ability to structure and close deals, align stakeholders, and position companies for sustainable growth. Prior to joining Barnwell, he held senior roles at Talisman Energy, Aspect Energy, Atlas Energy, and Crestar Energy. He began his career as a field production engineer with Canadian Occidental Petroleum. Craig is Professional Engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.

About Phil McPherson

Phil McPherson is Vice President of Capital Markets at Riot Platforms, a leading U.S. Bitcoin-focused infrastructure company and one of the country's largest Bitcoin miners by deployed hash rate. Since joining Riot in 2021, Mr. McPherson has been a visible liaison to institutional investors and the digital-asset ecosystem, helping to position the company through multiple Bitcoin cycles, large-scale Texas facility expansions, and a period of significant balance-sheet strength and market capitalization growth. Before Riot, he served eight years as Chief Financial Officer of Citadel Exploration Inc., and earlier, spent fifteen years on the sell side of the capital markets-predominantly in equity research focused on the energy sector. From April 2020 until April 2023, Mr. McPherson served on Barnwell's Board of Directors as designee of a large shareholder and as Chairman of the Company's Audit and Reserves Committees. He brings more than two decades of public-markets experience at the intersection of energy and next-generation information technology infrastructure.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained in this press release contains "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and expectations of our board and management team that involve risks, potential changes in circumstances, assumptions, and uncertainties, include various estimates, forecasts, projections of Barnwell's future performance, statements of Barnwell's plans and objectives, our expectations regarding the outcome of the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders and our ability to successfully solicit proxies from our stockholders in connection with the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders. Forward-looking statements include phrases such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "predicts," "estimates," "assumes," "projects," "may," "will," "will be," "should," or similar expressions. Although Barnwell believes that its current expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it cannot assure that the expectations contained in such forward-looking statements will be achieved. Any or all of the forward-looking statements may turn out to be incorrect or be affected by inaccurate assumptions Barnwell might make or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties including risks related to the actions of the Sherwood Group, our ability to successfully solicit proxies from stockholders in connection with the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders, our ability to defend against any potential claims by the Sherwood Group, our ability to execute on our strategy and business plan and the other risks forth in the "Forward-Looking Statements," "Risk Factors" and other sections of Barnwell's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024 (as amended on Form-10-K/A filed on January 27, 2025) and Barnwell's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, as they speak only as of the date of this press release, and Barnwell expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein.

COMPANY:

Barnwell Industries, Inc.
1100 Alakea Street, Suite 500
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: (808) 531-8400
Fax: (808) 531-7181
Website: www.brninc.com

CONTACT:

Investors:
Bruce Goldfarb / Chuck Garske
(212) 297-0720
Email: [email protected]

Kenneth S. Grossman
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: Barnwell Industries

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

R.Garcia--AT