Panhandle’s interim CEO takes over permanently

Chad Stephens’ temporary job as interim CEO of Oklahoma City-based Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. became permanent this past week.

The company named him Chief Executive Officer effective Jan. 16, 2020. He had previously been the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Range Resources until his retirement in 2018. Stephens had joined Range Resources in 1990 and eventually was responsible for the company’s more than $6 billion of oil and gas producing properties.

Panhandle’s Lead Independent Director Mark T. Behrman stated, “We are excited to have Chad leading the Company and our senior management team going forward. Chad is a very capable executive with proven leadership and operations expertise gained from his decades of experience in the oil and gas industry. We are confident that our executives, employees and stockholders will benefit greatly from Chad’s skills and expertise as he successfully executes our business strategy.

“My focus will be on furthering Panhandle’s strategic decision to focus on perpetual oil and natural gas mineral ownership and growth through mineral acquisitions and development of Panhandle’s significant inventory of mineral acreage to increase value to our stockholders,” stated Stephens in taking control of the company.

Panhandle owns approximately 258,000 net mineral acres principally located in Oklahoma, North Dakota, Texas, New Mexico and Arkansas. Approximately 71% of this mineral count is unleased and undeveloped.