Sometime in the second half of this year, Murphy Oil (MUR +2.65%) will split in two. When that happens, the company announced today, its current president and CEO, Steve Cosse, will be leaving Murphy proper to join the spun-off business running the firm's current downstream operations, Murphy USA.
Murphy confirmed Monday also that its board of directors plans to promote COO Roger Jenkins to take Cosse's place as head of what's left of Murphy after the spinoff. Jenkins is a 12-year veteran of the firm, and as the company advises, "played a critical leadership role in Murphy's worldwide exploration and production operations, including the development of the Kikeh field in Malaysia and the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas," making him ideal to run the firm's upstream operations going forward.
Investors seemed pleased at being given extra clarity as to who will be running what post-spinoff. Murphy shares gained 1.9% in Monday trading, to close at $62.60.
