DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Whiting Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: WLL) today announced the retirement of James T. Brown, Whiting’s President and Chief Operating Officer effective June 17, 2014. Mr. Brown joined Whiting in 1995 as a consulting engineer and subsequently served as Operations Manager, Vice President of Operations and Senior Vice President of Operations. In January 2011, he was elected President and Chief Operating Officer.
James J. Volker, Whiting’s Chairman and CEO, commented, “Jim Brown helped build Whiting into one of the premier operators in the Williston and DJ Basins. In addition, Jim’s leadership resulted in an exemplary environmental and safety record over his tenure. We thank Jim for his many contributions and we wish Jim and his family all the best.”
Effective June 17, 2014, Whiting announces the promotion of Rick Ross to Senior Vice President, Operations from Vice President, Operations. Also effective June 17, 2014, Whiting announces the promotion of Pete Hagist to Senior Vice President, Planning from Vice President, Permian Operations. Rick Ross and Pete Hagist join Mark Williams, Senior Vice President, Exploration and Development, at the Senior Vice President level. James J. Volker, Whiting’s Chairman and CEO, will assume the additional position of President effective June 17, 2014. These officers will collectively assume responsibility for the duties previously overseen by Mr. Brown.
As Senior Vice President, Exploration and Development, Mark Williams is responsible for the company’s upstream activity and capital budget, overseeing its efforts in identifying, quantifying and developing unconventional oil reservoirs. During his 30 year tenure he has led Whiting’s efforts in the discovery and development of the Bakken in North Dakota and the Niobrara in Northeastern Colorado. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in geology from the University of Utah and a Master’s Degree in geology from the Colorado School of Mines. His primary areas of technical expertise include sedimentology, stratigraphy, hydrocarbon systems, geophysics and petroleum economics. He has published and served in leadership positions in the AAPG, RMAG, SEG and SEPM.
As Senior Vice President, Operations, Rick Ross’s responsibilities will continue to include supervision of all Whiting’s operations in the Williston Basin Bakken/Three Forks play and Redtail DJ Basin Niobrara prospect. Rick held various technical and managerial positions with Amoco Production Company from 1982 through 1999 and with Whiting since 1999. He has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry including extensive experience in the Rocky Mountains and Mid-Continent. Rick graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with a BS in mechanical engineering. He is the past Chairman of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, a state trade group representing the North Dakota oil and gas industry. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Colorado.
As Senior Vice President, Planning, Pete Hagist’s responsibilities will include oversight of our Environmental Health and Safety department and management of all Whiting operations in the Permian Basin including the North Ward Estes CO2 project near Monahans, Texas. He has more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and 17 years of experience managing secondary and tertiary recovery operations. Prior to joining Whiting in 2005, he held management and professional positions with Kinder Morgan CO2 Company and Pennzoil Exploration and Production Company. Mr. Hagist holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and is a Registered Professional Engineer.
About Whiting Petroleum Corporation
Whiting Petroleum Corporation, a Delaware corporation, is an independent oil and gas company that explores for, develops, acquires and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids primarily in the Rocky Mountain and Permian Basin regions of the United States. The Company’s largest projects are in the Bakken and Three Forks plays in North Dakota and its Enhanced Oil Recovery field in Texas. The Company trades publicly under the symbol WLL on the New York Stock Exchange. For further information, please visit http://www.whiting.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains statements that we believe to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements other than historical facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding our future financial position, business strategy, projected revenues, earnings, costs, capital expenditures and debt levels, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, words such as we “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe” or “should” or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such statements.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: declines in oil, NGL or natural gas prices; our level of success in exploration, development and production activities; adverse weather conditions that may negatively impact development or production activities; the timing of our exploration and development expenditures; our ability to obtain sufficient quantities of CO2 necessary to carry out our enhanced oil recovery projects; inaccuracies of our reserve estimates or our assumptions underlying them; revisions to reserve estimates as a result of changes in commodity prices; impacts to financial statements as a result of impairment write downs; risks related to our level of indebtedness and periodic redeterminations of the borrowing base under our credit agreement; our ability to generate sufficient cash flows from operations to meet the internally funded portion of our capital expenditures budget; our ability to obtain external capital to finance exploration and development operations and acquisitions; federal and state initiatives relating to the regulation of hydraulic fracturing; the potential impact of federal debt reduction initiatives and tax reform legislation being considered by the U.S. Federal Government that could have a negative effect on the oil and gas industry; our ability to identify and complete acquisitions and to successfully integrate acquired businesses; unforeseen underperformance of or liabilities associated with acquired properties; our ability to successfully complete potential asset dispositions and the risks related thereto; the impacts of hedging on our results of operations; failure of our properties to yield oil or gas in commercially viable quantities; uninsured or underinsured losses resulting from our oil and gas operations; our inability to access oil and gas markets due to market conditions or operational impediments; the impact and costs of compliance with laws and regulations governing our oil and gas operations; our ability to replace our oil and natural gas reserves; any loss of our senior management or technical personnel; competition in the oil and gas industry in the regions in which we operate; risks arising out of our hedging transactions; and other risks described under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. We assume no obligation, and disclaim any duty, to update the forward-looking statements in this news release.
