Gulfport Energy appoints new CEO

Gulfport Energy Corp. announced Wednesday it has chosen a 40-year veteran of the country’s oil and natural gas industry to be its next permanent leader. Officials said David M. Wood, former chairman at the West Virginiabased and natural gas-focused Arsenal Resources, was selected after a national search. Wood replaces former Gulfport CEO Michael G. Moore, who resigned in early November after the company reported to regulators it had discovered that Moore had been engaged in unauthorized uses of the company’s aircraft. Donnie Moore, who had served Gulfport as its interim CEO during the search, will continue on with the firm as its chief operating officer and will report to Wood. Wood, who started in the business as a well-site geologist in Saudi Arabia, also served Arsenal at one point as its CEO. His past experience includes a three-year stint as a senior adviser to the energy-focused private equity firm First Reserve, 17 years as a top-level executive at Murphy Oil Corp. and 14 years working for Ashland Exploration and Production. Wood stated in a release he is excited to join Gulfport because of the “attractive and compelling” opportunity he believes it has to build value from its operational platform. Gulfport Chairman David L. Houston thanked Moore for his interim service before noting thedirectors believeWood is the right person for the job. “The board is fully confident David has the right mix of industry vision and experience, leadership skills and deep industry knowledge to lead Gulfport into the future,” Houston said. Gulfport promotes itself as one of the largest producers of natural gas in the contiguous U.S., holding significant positions in Ohio’s Utica Shale and Oklahoma’s SCOOP plays. It also holds acres on the Louisiana Gulf Coast and owns part of Mammoth Energy Services and Grizzly Oil Sands ULC.