Ranger Oil Corp. promoted Julia Gwaltney to the role of senior vice president and COO, effective immediately, on March 3.
Gwaltney joined Ranger Oil in January 2021 as senior vice president of development. Prior to joining Ranger, she was the COO for Gary Permian LLC from November 2015 to January 2020, where she led the company’s entry into the Delaware Basin and the development of the property.
“I have had the pleasure of working with Julia for over 20 years, and her experience and technical expertise are unsurpassed,” commented Darrin Henke, Ranger Oil’s president and CEO who also previously served as CEO of Gary Permian prior to joining Ranger in August 2020.
“Her leadership skills were pivotal as we executed a number of strategic initiatives over the past year—significantly increasing Ranger’s operating footprint, drilling inventory and financial position,” Henke continued.
Ranger Oil is a pure-play independent oil and gas company engaged in the development and production of oil, NGL and natural gas, with operations in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas. Previously known as Penn Virginia, the company rebranded last October following an all-stock combination with Lonestar Resources US Inc.
Throughout her career, Gwaltney had also served as vice president of western operations at Samson Resources from April 2014 to November 2015. Prior to that, she had been employed at Encana, now known as Ovintiv, for 14 years after starting her career at Burlington Resources. She received her B.S. from Colorado School of Mines and is a registered petroleum engineer.
“I look forward to Julia’s continued success in her new position as Chief Operating Officer,” Henke added, “leveraging her knowledge and guidance as we capitalize on additional opportunities to further enhance Ranger’s market and financial position for the benefit of our shareholders.”
Ranger Oil position covers about 143,000 net acres in the core of the Eagle Ford Shale with roughly 750 estimated drilling locations in inventory, according to a recent investor presentation.
Last month, the company reported growth in total proved and proved developed reserves of 90% and 82%, respectively, alongside expectations of achieving its balance sheet goal of approximately 1.0x leverage by the end of the first quarter.