Cobalt International Energy (CIE) Appoints New CEO

Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE) announced the appointment of a new CEO with effect from Jul 2, 2016. The new incumbent Timothy J. Cutt has been appointed as both Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a Class I member of the board of directors. He was handed over the baton from the outgoing CEO Joseph H. Bryant who has resigned with effect from Jun 1, 2016.

For the interim one month period prior to Timothy J. Cutt assuming the mantle, the company has made some temporary appointments. During this time, William P. Utt, the company’s lead independent director, has been appointed as Interim Chairman of the board of directors and Van P. Whitfield, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, has been appointed as Interim Chief Executive Officer.

In our opinion, Cutt’s appointment is a sound choice, given his profound experience in the exploration space over the years. Earlier, he served as President, Petroleum of BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) Limited (NYSE:BHP) and was accountable for its global oil and gas business from Jul 2013 to Mar 2016. Apart from that, Cutt held positions in engineering, operations and senior management for 25 years with energy majors like ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) .

Headquartered in Houston, TX, Cobalt International Energy is an independent exploration and production company active in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico and offshore West Africa. The company was formed in 2005. The company holds lease interests in over 230 deepwater blocks in the Inboard Lower Tertiary and Miocene plays.
To date, the company has drilled seven exploratory wells, three appraisal wells and four development wells in the northern pre-salt Kwanza Basin offshore Angola, and one exploratory well in the pre-salt deepwater region offshore Gabon. Of these wells, 13 have been successful in finding pre-salt hydrocarbons.

Cobalt International currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors interested in the space can focus on a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock like CVR Refining, LP (NYSE:CVRR) .

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