Range Resources Corp. promoted Dennis Degner on May 16 to serve as the Fort Worth, Texas-based shale producer’s COO.

Dennis Degner, senior vice president and COO of Range Resources. (Source: Range Resources Corp.)
Dennis Degner’s appointment
as senior vice president and
COO is effective immediately.
(Source: Range Resources Corp.)

Degner has more than 20 years experience in the oil and gas industry, including nine years with Range. His promotion fills in a position left empty for more than a year following the retirement of the company’s former COO, Ray Walker, in April 2018.

Most recently, Degner served as senior vice president of operations at Range where he managed operations and marketing across the entire company including its stacked-pay projects in the Appalachian Basin and North Louisiana’s Lower Cotton Valley play. Before that, he led Range’s Appalachia division in Pennsylvania.

Within the Appalachian Basin, Range has nearly a million net acres across Pennsylvania, most of which has stacked-pay potential for the Marcellus, Utica and Upper Devonian shale formations. Roughly 90% of the company’s $756 million capex this year is allocated to operations in the Marcellus.

During the first quarter, Range successfully drilled three of the company’s top five longest Marcellus laterals, with all three laterals exceeding 18,000 ft. The company also generated more than $100 million in free cash flow during the quarter, which was used to pay down debt on its revolver.

Jeff Ventura, Range’s CEO and president, said in a statement on May 16: “We are very excited to welcome Dennis into this role and are confident that he will continue to be instrumental in Range’s success, as we deliver on our plan to generate sustainable free cash flow with industry-leading operational efficiency and a strict focus on capital discipline.”

Degner’s appointment as senior vice president and COO is effective immediately.

Throughout his career, Degner has worked in a variety of technical and managerial positions across the U.S. including in Texas, Louisiana, Wyoming, Colorado and Pennsylvania. This includes positions prior to joining Range with Encana Corp., Sierra Engineering and Halliburton Co. He is also a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and has been published for his work on active roles played in deployment of new technologies, according to the Range website.

Emily Patsy can be reached at epatsy@hartenergy.com.

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