Extraction Oil & Gas shuffles executives, board after completing debt restructuring

DENVER — Extraction Oil & Gas Inc. (OTCMKTS: XOGAQ) has tapped a new CEO after it was cleared to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy several weeks ago.

In a statement, the Denver company said former board chairman Tom Tyree will become CEO, while former CEO Matt Owens would be demoted to chief operating officer. The company will also resume trading on the Nasdaq after its stock was suspended for failing to maintain standards required by the exchange.

Extraction’s board has six new independent directors, led by Kimmeridge Energy Management Co. managing partner Ben Dell. Kimmeridge is a New York-based private-equity group focusing on unconventional oil and gas plays.

“The Extraction team has worked hard over the last six months to right-size the business, lower its cost structure and optimize its midstream agreements,” Dell said in a statement.

Howard Willard, who was formerly CEO of Phillip Morris successor Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), also joined the board.

Extraction was among several debt-heavy energy producers across the country that filed for bankruptcy last year after the pandemic and the resulting drop in fuel demand sent oil prices to deep lows. The company carried 4.4 times more debt on its books at the end of 2019 than its equity, leaving it over-leveraged at a time of industrywide weakness.

Extraction is the fourth-largest producer of energy in Weld County, producing 13.27 million barrels of oil and 98.94 million McF of natural gas last year, according to data from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

The company also has a large production facility in Broomfield, which is the subject of ongoing litigation alleging that county officials have targeted it with rules meant to stop it from operating.

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