Oil Search exec shake-up continues with fresh need for new CFO
Analysts are questioning the abrupt exit of the Oil Search chief financial officer-in-waiting.
Oil Search has suffered an executive shake-up only days after unveiling its new corporate strategy, including the abrupt exit of its chief financial officer-in-waiting just three months after her appointment.
The Papua New Guinea and Alaska focused oil and gas producer said Ayten Saridas, chief financial officer designate, has resigned “to pursue other opportunities” and will depart on December 1 by mutual agreement.
Ms Saridas – who previously worked at coal producer Coronado along with Ausgrid and Santos – had only joined Oil Search in mid-August and was working on a transition basis with current finance boss Stephen Gardiner ahead of assuming the role in early 2021.
The announcement comes just eight days after its investor day where it reactivated a series of growth plans after being forced in April to launch an emergency $US700m capital raising and slash jobs amid the deepest oil market crash in a generation.
Oil Search’s explanation failed to pass the “sniff test”, according to Credit Suisse.
Ms Saridas’s departure is “hardly a good sign as clearly the reasoning provided doesn’t pass the sniff test in our view”, Credit Suisse analyst Saul Kavonic said. “Such senior management churn isn’t a signal that provides confidence in the leadership.”
A string of other senior executives are also set to leave the company’s Sydney headquarters, industry sources told The Australian.
Oil Search’s chief investment officer, Nicole Beavan, will depart in February 2021 just over a year after joining the company following a 13-year investment banking career with Goldman Sachs. Ms Beavan was responsible for the just completed strategic review delivered to investors.
The company’s long-serving investor relations head, Ann Diamant, will also join the exodus after 17 years with plans to leave by Christmas.
Oil Search’s number two in the investor relations department, Chris Morbey, had been lined up to replace Ms Diamant. Instead, he was poached by Adelaide-based producer Beach Energy to replace its outgoing investor relations head, Nik Burns, who is joining investment bank Jarden Australia.
Pete Laliberte, Oil Search’s vice president mergers and acquisitions, and based in Alaska until the start of this year will assume the investor relations head role on an interim basis.
Mr Gardiner, who was to leave Oil Search in February, will now stay on as CFO until May 2021 to help with the appointment and transition for a new finance head with an international search now underway.
The shake-up continues a rollercoaster year for managing director Keiran Wulff who took on the top job in February, succeeding Peter Botten who had been in charge for 25 years.
Oil Search slashed nearly a third of its workforce in July and a number of other top executives also left earlier in the year including Dale Rollins after less than six months at the company and Ian Munro.