Seven CEO Ryan Stokes named interim chairman of Beach Energy as billionaire father tightens grip

Sources say the oil and gas company is negotiating with a preferred candidate but in the interim Ryan Stokes will be chairman, as Kerry Stokes tightens his grip.

Beach Energy has named Seven Group chief executive Ryan Stokes as the company’s interim chairman, as billionaire Kerry Stokes tightens his grip on the oil and gas company.

The departure of chairman Glenn Davis – who has been chairman since 2012, extends a period of upheaval of the oil and gas company that has seemingly seen Kerry Stokes seek to exert greater influence.

Mr Davis has for some months expressed his desire to retire rather than stand for re-election at the company’s looming AGM. Beach Energy said he will step down.

Kerry Stokes’ Seven owns just over 30 per cent of Beach Energy.

Beach Energy said Mr Davis would leave the company on ­November 14 and, while the company was close to appointing a full-time replacement, Ryan Stokes would step in in the meantime.

“I look forward to chairing Beach on an interim basis until our new chair becomes available. At the same time we will continue the board renewal process Mr Davis has referred to as we focus on delivering strong value for all shareholders as our projects come on line,” Ryan Stokes said.

Sources close to the company said it was in contract negotiations with a preferred candidate and was confident a resolution would be agreed.

But with talks sometimes prolonged, Ryan Stokes had been asked to become chairman.

Ryan Stokes was named as a director of Beach Energy in July, having previously held the same role at Beach until 2021 before stepping down to become an alternative director.

The larger role for Ryan Stokes came just weeks before Beach Energy shocked the market when it ousted its chief executive and appointed a Santos executive as his replacement.

Brett Woods will join Beach Energy in February next year after the abrupt exit of Morne Engelbrecht, who had been at the helm of the company for little more than a year in the job.

Mr Woods will be Beach Energy’s third CEO in about three years, an appointment seen as an attempt by the company to revive its fortunes after a series of setbacks. The oil and gas company has struggled to boost production – much to the dissatisfaction of shareholders and investors.

Beach Energy said in May its Waitsia Stage 2 project in Western Australia – a key pillar of Beach Energy’s growth strategy from which the company had targeted first gas by the end of 2023 – would be delayed by labour shortages. The company said it was unclear on when it would be able to deliver gas to customers.

The Waitsia project is being developed as a joint venture between Beach and Japan’s Mitsui & Co. Beach has begun a review of the project.

The delay in gas production was a blow to hopes that Beach is poised to see the much anticipated turnaround in its fortunes after it struggled to boost output.

In 2022, Beach Energy slashed the estimated gas reserves at its LNG export basin near Perth by 11 per cent after the Waitsia Stage 2 drilling campaign.

In 2021, Beach Energy suffered its biggest ever one-day share market fall when it suddenly slashed its estimate for reserves from the Western Flank oil reserves in northeast South Australia, triggering class action lawsuits.

Beach fell 0.5c to $1.54.

Originally published as Seven CEO Ryan Stokes named interim chairman of Beach Energy as billionaire father tightens grip