Michael L. Reger has been terminated as chief executive officer of Northern Oil & Gas Inc., Wayzata, Minn., amid a US Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of his activities outside of NOG. He also has ceased being a member of NOG’s board.
Thomas W. Stoelk, chief financial officer since December 2011, has been named interim chief executive officer. He has served in several executive positions in the oil and gas industry over the last 25 years. Prior to joining NOG, he was vice-president, finance, and chief financial officer at Superior Well Services Inc. from 2005 to 2011.
In a filing with the SEC, the firm said it’s cooperating with the agency in an ongoing investigation of 2012 trading patterns in the securities of Dakota Plains Holdings Inc., an integrated Bakken-Three Forks midstream firm, in which Reger was an initial investor in 2008.
NOG says it has never owned interest in Dakota Plains, and, based on the information available to it, doesn’t believe that it’s the focus of any investigation.
An exploration and production company focused on nonproducing assets in the Bakken-Three Forks, NOG is currently evaluating strategic alternatives due to “the challenges of operating in a lower commodity price environment.”
The firm posted a second-quarter net loss of $109 million compared with a net loss of $250 million in second-quarter 2015. It recorded a noncash ceiling test impairment of $88.9 million in the second quarter, and $282 million in the year-ago period.
