By Arathy Somasekhar and Pooja Menon
HOUSTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips said on Thursday CEO Ryan Lance will retire after 14 years, handing the job to CFO Andy O'Brien, as the oil and gas producer posted better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue.
The departure comes after a tumultuous past year for ConocoPhillips. The company cut 20-25% of its workforce in September 2025, after it hired management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group to advise on the restructuring.
Lance took responsibility
for the job cuts, telling employees that the company, under him, had become less competitive as it focused on swallowing smaller rivals. It had struck two multi-billion-dollar deals in recent years — buying smaller peer Marathon Oil in 2024 for $22.5 billion, and Concho Resources for $9.7 billion in 2021. It has also acquired Permian assets from oil major Shell for $9.5 billion.
However, the company also posted the highest net income since 2022 on the back of sturdy oil prices in recent months.
Shares of ConocoPhillips, the largest U.S. independent oil and gas producer, rose 1.4% in morning trading.
"He's had a good run as CEO," said Dan Pickering, chief investment officer at Pickering Energy Partners, noting the strong financial and recent consolidations.
Lance took the helm of the company in 2012 after ConocoPhillips split from refining business Phillips 66, leaving it as a pure exploration and production company.
During his tenure, ConocoPhillips emerged as one of the largest independent oil and gas producers globally, with operations spanning North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.
Lance also oversaw a series of major portfolio moves, including the sale of billions of dollars of non-core assets following the 2014 oil price collapse, and massive oil price drops in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic crushed demand.
Lance will become executive chair and O'Brien will take over as CEO on September 1, the company said. Konnie Haynes-Welsh, who joined the company in 2012 and is currently vice president, finance and controller, will become senior vice president and chief financial officer.
O'Brien, who joined the company in 1997, has held roles in finance, planning and strategy, and also oversaw the company's Alaska and international businesses, commercial, LNG and mergers and acquisitions.
"Andy (O'Brien) very much fits the mold of a large company executive — thinks before he talks, measured. ... He's managed and handled a lot of different roles and responsibilities within the company. He understands the technical nature of what ConocoPhillips is doing, and he's very familiar with the assets," Pickering said.
It is unlikely that there will be a meaningful shift in ConocoPhillips' strategy, Pickering added.
The company has recently agreed to acquire a 42% stake in a joint venture in the Kirkuk oilfields in northern Iraq, and signed an agreement to re-enter Syria, all of which would likely be O'Brien's priorities.
BLOCKBUSTER EARNINGS
ConocoPhillips posted an adjusted profit of $3.24 per share for the second quarter ended June 30, beating analysts' average estimate of $2.88 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Revenue rose 32.4% to $19.5 billion in the quarter, beating estimates of $18.8 billion.
Production dipped nearly 6% to 2.25 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), while the company's average realized price was $62.33 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), 36% higher than a year earlier.
Rival producers Occidental Petroleum and Diamondback as well as oil majors Chevron and Exxon Mobil have all reported multi-year high profits on the back of high oil prices stemming from the Iran war.
Benchmark Brent crude averaged at about $93.58 per barrel during the April-to-June period, up more than 32% from a year earlier, driven by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East that raised concerns about global oil supplies.
Despite the surge in oil prices, U.S. oil and gas producers with assets in the Middle East experienced some disruptions to operations due to the ongoing Iran war.
The company forecast third-quarter production between 2.29 million boepd and 2.32 million boepd.
(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Will Dunham)
