Oil Search Ltd. has appointed Peter Fredricson as acting chief executive officer effective immediately, and a search for a permanent managing director and chief executive officer will begin shortly. Fredricson joined Oil Search as chief financial officer earlier this year.
The move comes following the sudden resignation of Keiran Wulff, citing health reasons.
Company chairman Rick Lee said Wulff had been managing a long-term medical condition which had recently deteriorated. Lee added that the board had entered discussions with Wulff following an internal complaint about his behavior. Lee said the board considered that Wulff had behaved in a “manner inconsistent with the standards expected by the board in relation to his management style.”
Lee went on to say that the board acknowledged the magnitude of the tasks undertaken by Wulff since his appointment as managing director in February 2020, including the COVID pandemic lockdowns and the falling oil price which forced the company to retrench a third of its workforce. Lee said the board recognized the challenges that Wulff’s recent health issues have had on him.
Wulff joined Oil Search in August 1993 as chief geologist. He left the company in 2008 to become an independent consultant and, for a short time, managing director of Buru Energy in Perth. Wulff rejoined Oil Search in 2015 as executive vice-president of Alaska prior to his appointment as managing director in 2020 following the retirement of Peter Botten.