Athabasca Oil Corp. (TO: ATH.TO) detailed updates regarding its executives and board of directors. It also increased its 2014 capital budget, the company said Sept. 8.

Tom Buchanan, the current chairman of the board, will assume the responsibilities of president and CEO when Sveinung Svarte retires from those positions Sept. 30, the company said. Svarte will remain vice chairman of the board, the company added."On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Sveinung for his role as one of the founders and for his visionary leadership and commitment to making Athabasca a premiere resource company," Buchanan said.

"Since 2006, under his leadership Athabasca has grown into a $3 billion company with an extensive portfolio of world-class resource assets in both light oil and thermal oil. We look forward to his continued involvement as a valued member of the board," he added.

"I am proud of what we have collectively achieved over the past at Athabasca," Svarte said.

"We have some of the best acreage in the Kaybob Duvernay and in the Athabasca oil-sands region, and our excellent team is currently building world-class projects in Alberta. Furthermore, our company is now well-funded and ready to deliver profitable growth under Tom's guidance," he added.

With more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, Buchanan most recently was CEO of Calgary, Alberta-based Spyglass Resources Corp. (TO: SGL.TO, OTC: SGLRF), Athabasca said.

Buchanan will be replaced on the board’s compensation and governance committee by Ron Eckhardt, who will be lead director of the board, the company noted, and Pete Sametz will replace Buchanan on the board’s audit committee.

Regarding finances, Athabasca’s board approved the $140 million increase to the capital budget, which has $667 million in total, the company said. Athabasca’s production guidance range for the second half of 2014 remains between 6,000 and 6,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Looking ahead, the 2015 capex is predicted to range between $450 million and $500 million, the company said. Athabasca plans to drill 26 wells by the end of 2015, the company added.

Regarding liquidity, Athabasca predicts that at year-end 2014, there will be about $1.2 billion in funding. By year-end 2015, the company predicts about $600 million in funding. Funding includes cash, promissory notes and available credit facilities, the company said.

Calgary-based Athabasca Oil Corp. develops oil sands and light oil in northeastern and northwestern Alberta, respectively.