Tullow Oil has announced that its Chief Executive Officer Rahul Dhir will step down and also resign from its board next year.

This was contained in a circular issued to investors today December 5, 2024 in London.

The board in the statement said it has initiated a process to find a successor for Dhir, who was appointed as CEO in 2020.

“Dhir will stay in his role until a date has been determined to ensure a smooth transition”, the company said

Rahul Dhir on his exit

Mr. Dhir described his work at Tullow Oil as privileged, while serving as Chief Executive of the oil firm .

“During this period, we have achieved a step change in our operating performance, cost structure and capital discipline and delivered over 1.1 billion dollars in free cash flow and reduced our net debt from 2.8 billion dollars  to c.1.4 billion dollars” , he said.

“I am also very proud of our team’s strong culture of ownership and commitment to business delivery. With a strong pan-African platform, Tullow is well-positioned as a trusted partner and responsible operator to deliver the next phase of growth.”

Rahul Dhir was on July 1, 2020 appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Tullow Oil, taking over from Dorothy Thompson . Before his appointment, he was CEO OF Delonex Energy, an African focused Oil and Gas Company.

Tullow Board Chair on Chief Executive

The Non-Executive Chairman of Tullow Oil praised   Dhir for the hard work and dedication over the years, adding that  “since joining in 2020, Rahul has led a comprehensive turn-around and strategic reset of Tullow, focused on the delivery of operational and financial performance, debt reduction and positioning the company for future growth.”

Market reactions

The Morning Star of the UK is already reporting that Tullow Oil PLC shares have slumped after the news of Mr. Dhir resignation.

Shares in Tullow, according to the Morning Star were down by  7.0 percent to 22.88 on the London Stock Exchange.