Longtime ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance will step down in September, remaining in the executive chairman role, and opening the door for chief financial officer Andy O’Brien to take over as CEO.
The announcement comes as ConocoPhillips reported a massive second-quarter profit of $3.9 billion—up from $2 billion year-over-year. ConocoPhillips has a market cap of about $140 billion—only down slightly from an all-time high achieved in late March. Profits were buoyed by high oil prices triggered by the Iran war.
Houston-based ConocoPhillips is the nation’s leading independent oil and gas producer—it only produces oil and gas—while the larger ExxonMobil and Chevron are integrated giants that also own refining and chemical assets and more. ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 spun off from each other in 2012 with Phillips 66 holding the refining, petrochemical, pipeline, and terminal assets. Lance took over as CEO that same year during the split.
Lance, a petroleum engineer by training, will leave the CEO role short of his 65th birthday next year.
“[Lance] set the course for the newly formed independent ConocoPhillips in 2012, and during his tenure, the company became a recognized leader within the sector as a global upstream company. The strength of the company today and its compelling outlook for the future is a direct result of Ryan’s vision and leadership,” said Robert Niblock, Conoco lead independent director, in a statement.
