Natural gas and oil company Forest Oil Corp. (FST: Quote) said Friday that its board of directors has appointed Patrick McDonald, a member of the board, to serve as interim chief executive officer with immediate effect.
McDonald, aged 55, succeeds Craig Clark, who has served as president and CEO and as a director of Forest Oil since July 2003. Following the news, the company's shares are up more than 7 percent in the pre-market trading.
Denver, Colorado-based Forest Oil said it has initiated a search process for a permanent CEO, and has retained executive recruiting firm Spencer Stuart to assist in the process. In connection with Spencer Stuart's review of candidates, McDonald has asked not to be considered for a permanent role.
James Lightner, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Forest Oil, said, "As a member of the Forest Board of Directors since 2004, Pat has an intimate knowledge of the Company's management team, strategy and assets. Furthermore, Pat has more than 20 years of experience as a CEO in the industry, which will be invaluable to Forest as we conduct our CEO search."
Lightner noted that among McDonald's first priorities will be to personally involve himself in Forest Oil's Eagle Ford shale process and in concluding other transactions that are in progress to reduce the company's debt.
McDonald has been a director of Forest Oil since 2004. He has served as CEO, president and director of Carbon Natural Gas Co. (CRBO: Quote), an oil and gas exploration company, since April 2003 and will continue to serve in those capacities.
From 1998 to 2003, McDonald served as president, CEO and director of Carbon Energy Corp. Prior to that, he served as CEO, president and director of Interenergy Corp., a natural gas gathering, processing, and marketing company, from 1987 to 1997.
Previously, McDonald worked as an exploration geologist with Texaco International Exploration Co., where he was responsible for oil and gas exploration efforts in the Middle East and Far East.
The outgoing CEO Clark joined Forest Oil in September 2001 and served as president and chief operating officer through July 2003. Prior to joining the company, he was employed by oil exploration and production company Apache Corp. (APA) from 1989 to 2001, where he served in various management positions.
In late April, Forest Oil reported a net loss for the first quarter that widened to $32.67 million or $0.29 per share from $3.33 million or $0.33 per share in the year-ago period. Total revenues for the quarter declined to $158.93 million from $166.86 million in the prior-year quarter.
FST closed Thursday's trading at $6.46. In Friday's pre-market, the stock is trading at $6.95, up $0.49 or 7.59 percent.
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by RTT Staff Writer
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