Versarien (VRS) shares increased as much as 10 per cent after the company announced that it had received an order for 12kg of its high purity graphene nano platelets (GNP-HP) from an unnamed US oil and gas company. The product will be used in down-hole drilling components. Versarien declined to provide a value for its first US graphene order.
It has also replaced its vice president of North American operations, Patrick Abbott, who was appointed in March. Mr Abbott has been embroiled in a long-running legal saga and was charged with two counts of securities fraud in a Texas court earlier this month. He maintains his innocence, and in a statement said that he hopes to return to his post once cleared of all charges. A Versarien spokesperson said that his departure was “solely a decision of the board”, and that there are “no current plans or agreement for him to rejoin”.
Mr Abbott is replaced by Brian Berney, a former executive at the US division of a Chinese speciality battery manufacturer. Mr Berney will be president of North American operations from 1 July.
