ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance steps down after 14 years and will be replaced by the CFO, a company lifer
Ryan Lance has been ConocoPhillips’s only CEO since the oil giant separated from Phillips 66 in 2012.
ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance will resign in September, retaining his position as executive chairman, thereby paving the way for CFO Andy O’Brien to assume the role of CEO. This shift follows the company's impressive second-quarter profit of $3.9 billion, a substantial increase from $2 billion previously. ConocoPhillips' market capitalization is currently valued at approximately $140 billion, a slight decrease from its all-time high in late March.
The company's profitability is attributed to high oil prices sparked by the Iran conflict. As an independent producer of oil and gas, ConocoPhillips stands out from its larger counterparts, ExxonMobil and Chevron, which also engage in refining, chemicals, and other ventures. ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 parted ways in 2012, with Phillips 66 retaining the refining, petrochemical, pipeline, and terminal assets.
Lance, a petroleum engineer by profession, assumed the CEO role following the split in the same year. At 65, Lance will step down before his birthday next year. Lance's tenure as CEO has been instrumental in transforming ConocoPhillips into a prominent global upstream company, a position lauded by independent director Robert Niblock.
O’Brien, a long-standing Conoco employee since 1997, will take over as CEO, bringing a wealth of knowledge and execution expertise to the position. Niblock further commended O’Brien's pivotal role in ConocoPhillips' success. The company recently concluded the sale of $1.7 billion in noncore U.S. assets, achieving its $5 billion divestiture goal.
These sales encompass properties in Oklahoma, South Texas's Eagle Ford Shale, the Gulf of Mexico, and parts of the Permian Basin. Despite this strategic shift, ConocoPhillips' core profitability remains in its West Texas Permian Basin operations. Konnie Haynes-Welsh, currently serving as vice president of finance and controller, will assume the senior vice president and CFO role, succeeding Lance.
Written by urgent.news from Fortune's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
