Oasis Petroleum Names Former Anadarko Exec Danny Brown as CEO

Oasis Petroleum Inc. on April 14 appointed Daniel E. “Danny” Brown as CEO, a role left vacant following Co-founder Thomas Nusz retirement’s last December.

Brown has 23 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry having spent his career with Anadarko Petroleum and one of its predecessors—Kerr-McGee—until Anadarko was acquired by Occidental Petroleum in 2019. 

According to Oasis Board Chair Douglas E. Brooks, who also served as interim CEO during the company’s CEO search, Brown’s skills are highly complementary to the existing senior leadership team at Oasis.

“Danny’s impeccable reputation and extensive industry experience in a variety of leadership and operational positions at Anadarko and Kerr-McGee make him the perfect fit for our company,” Brooks said.

Throughout his career with Anadarko and Kerr-McGee, Brown held positions of increasing responsibility in U.S. onshore and Gulf of Mexico segments, as well as internationally. Prior to its acquisition, Brown served as executive vice president of Anadarko’s U.S. onshore operations. Since January 2020, he has served on the board of Beacon Offshore Energy LLC, a private equity-sponsored exploration and production company that is focused on the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Brown’s appointment was effective April 13. At the same time, he was also appointed to the Oasis board of directors.

Commenting on his appointment, Brown remarked: “I greatly appreciate the confidence shown by the board of directors in asking me to lead this exceptionally well positioned company with its well-respected management team and board, talented professionals, premier assets, pristine balance sheet, commitment to ESG and new strategic vision. I look forward to working with our board, senior management and our full complement of dedicated team members as we plan and execute our new path forward to maximize value for our stakeholders.”

The company’s former CEO, Nusz, co-founded Oasis in 2007 alongside Taylor Reid, who currently serves as COO. 

Based in Houston, Oasis is one of the top producers in the Williston Basin, primarily targeting the Middle Bakken and Three Forks formations. The company also focuses on the development of the oil-rich Bone Springs and Wolfcamp formations in the Delaware Basin of the Permian, which it had entered in 2017 with the acquisition of Forge Energy.

Oasis completed a financial restructuring last year after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late September. Through its reorganization, it said it had successfully reduced its debt by $1.8 billion.

Brooks, previously president and CEO of Energy XXI Gulf Coast Inc. until its sale to an affiliate of Cox Oil LLC, had been named chairman of the Oasis board as part of the court-aided restructuring.