QEP Resources Inc. (NYSE: QEP) CEO Charles “Chuck” Stanley will retire after transforming the company into a pure-play Permian Basin company and said Dec. 6 that its board has named Cobalt International Energy Inc.’s top executive as his successor.

Stanley, who has served as QEP’s president and CEO since its spinoff from Questar Corp. in 2010 and later added the role as board chairman, has elected to retire from the company which will take effect Jan. 14.

Shortly thereafter, QEP said Timothy “Tim” Cutt, who most recently served as CEO of Cobalt, will join the company as its president and CEO, effective Jan. 15. Cutt will bring 35 years of oil and gas experience, including time with BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), to the top position at QEP.

David A. Trice, a lead independent director on QEP’s board who has been named to succeed Stanley as chairman, said in a statement: “Tim has a history of providing exceptional leadership under a variety of circumstances and he is the ideal candidate to succeed Chuck.”

Cutt has been with Cobalt since 2016 and most recently has led the company through its bankruptcy, which it entered in December 2017. He had joined the company from BHP Billiton, where he served as the president of petroleum from 2013 through 2016 and was accountable for its global oil and gas business, including the company’s interests in the Permian Basin. Prior to BHP, he served as president of Exxon Mobil de Venezuela SA and of Hibernia Management and Development Co.

“The board is confident in Tim’s ability to take the helm and lead the company forward,” Trice continued. “His character and experience are exactly what QEP needs at this pivotal time in its evolution.”

Earlier this year, QEP launched several strategic and financial initiatives intended to transform itself into pure-play Permian Basin company.

In a statement, Stanley added: “With the recent announcements of the sales of our Williston Basin and Haynesville/Cotton Valley assets, we are well on our way to accomplishing the initiatives. I am proud of what QEP has accomplished over the last eight and a half years.”

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QEP first entered the Permian Basin in 2014 with the closing of the $950 million acquisition of Enervest Ltd.’s acreage in Martin and Andrews counties in Texas’ Midland sub-basin.

Since then, the company has continued to amass more acreage in the Permian and currently holds roughly 50,700 net acres in the prolific basin with production of about 4.8 million barrels of oil equivalent during third-quarter 2018.

“I am honored and very excited to join the QEP team,” Cutt said in a statement. “The company’s high-quality Permian assets are proving to be some of the best in the basin. The continued utilization of ‘tank-style’ development, combined with well density optimization and unmatched completion efficiency, has positioned the company to thrive and grow in what is one of the most prolific oil basins in the United States.”

Emily Patsy can be reached at epatsy@hartenergy.com.

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