Unit Corp. (NYSE: UNT) said Nov. 27 it had named Les Austin as senior vice president and CFO of the Tulsa, Okla.-based company effective immediately.

Austin, age 51, has more than 23 years of energy finance and leadership experience, according to the company release. He replaces David T. Merrill, who held the position of CFO at Unit until he was promoted to COO in August.

Through its subsidiaries, Unit is engaged in oil and natural gas exploration, production, contract drilling and natural gas gathering and processing. The company's upstream subsidiary focuses on the Wilcox play in Southeast Texas and the Granite Wash, Hoxbar and Stack plays in the Midcontinent region of western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle.

Merrill said in a statement: "We are very pleased to welcome Les Austin to Unit Corp. His background in the energy industry and experience as a CFO will be a great asset to the company. We look forward to his future contributions in this role."

Most recently, Austin served as senior vice president and CFO of Cypress Energy Partners LP, a Tulsa, Okla.-based provider of saltwater disposal and other water and environmental services to U.S. onshore producers and trucking companies.

Austin previously was the senior vice president and CFO of Ram Energy Resources Inc. from 2008 to 2011. He was promoted to COO in 2011, which he held until his departure from the company in 2012.

Before joining Ram Energy Resources, he was the vice president of finance and CFO of Matrix Service Co. He has also held various managerial and financial positions at Flint Energy Construction Co. and Ernst & Young LLP. Austin has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Oklahoma State University and is a Certified Public Accountant.