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Oxy Taps Ultra Petroleum Alum as CFO for California E&P

Share Print Bookmark    |    Tuesday,July 22,2014

Occidental Petroleum Corporation has announced the appointment of Marshall D. (Mark) Smith as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for its subsidiary, California Resources Corporation.

Following its separation from Occidental, California Resources Corporation will be an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company focused on high-growth, high-return conventional and unconventional assets exclusively in California.

Mr. Smith was most recently Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Ultra Petroleum, an independent energy company engaged in domestic natural gas and crude oil exploration, development and production. Mr. Smith’s 32 years of experience in the energy industry spans operations, strategic planning, corporate finance and business development. He began his career as a petroleum engineer working at both major and independent oil companies, later focusing on mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance advisory assignments. Mr. Smith served as Vice President of Upstream Business Development at Constellation Energy from 2004 to 2005. He was Vice President of Business Development at J.M. Huber Energy from 2002 to 2004, and Chief Financial Officer of Gulf Liquids, Inc., from 2001 to 2002. Mr. Smith holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma, and an MBA from Oklahoma City University.

Todd A. Stevens, President and Chief Executive Officer of California Resources Corporation, commented: "I’m pleased to add Mark to the California Resources executive management team. His background in corporate finance combined with expertise in petroleum engineering and deep understanding of operating independent oil and gas companies will be a tremendous asset to the company."