Credo Petroleum Corporation reported that Michael D. Davis, its Vice President of Land & Business Development, has been promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Davis will also serve as Interim CEO when, as previously reported, Marlis E. Smith, Jr. steps down at the end of January to return to full time management of his personal oil and gas business. Mr. Smith will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors.

Mr. Davis, 52, has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Prior to Credo, Mr. Davis served as Manager of Acquisitions & Divestitures at privately held Aviva, Inc. where he managed the company's oil and gas acquisition and divestiture activities covering over 6,000 properties throughout 24 states. Previous to Aviva, Mr. Davis served as Vice President of Land & Business Development at DRM Energy Corporation where he was responsible for corporate business development and strategic planning for the expansion and development of E & P opportunities in the domestic U.S. on behalf of a multi-billion dollar international joint venture group comprised of Neumin Production Company (USA), Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (FPCC-Taiwan) and Formosa Plastics (FPC-USA). Mr. Davis has also held senior-level positions with publically held Cimarex Energy and privately held Anschutz Exploration Company, and has owned personal business ventures involved in oil and gas leases, royalty acquisitions and property management.

Marlis E. Smith, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, stated, "I appreciate the hard work the Credo team has undertaken to reposition the Company to be primarily an oil producer. After several rebuilding years, we achieved the milestone of becoming primarily an oil producer in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011. We believe that Credo started a steep growth trajectory in 2011. To continue this accelerated growth, we almost doubled our drilling budget for fiscal 2012 to a record $30,000,000."

James T. Huffman, Chairman, stated, "Credo's timely decision to become primarily an oil producer has allowed us to capitalize on the huge price gap between oil and natural gas. That success is clearly reflected in the Company's financial performance and reserve values at fiscal year end 2011. Marlis did an excellent job of executing our drilling program which proved our technical concepts and converted our projects into repeatable and scalable exploration plays. We are grateful for his two years of chief executive service, and we are pleased that Credo will continue to benefit from his knowledge and experience as a Board member."

Huffman continued, "The Board believes that Credo has a number of viable go-forward options due to its excellent acreage position in multiple oil-focused plays, track record of drilling success, and strong financial position. Accordingly, in addition to initiating a search for a Chief Executive Officer, the Board is considering other strategic options which may be available to the Company. During this process, Michael Davis will also serve as interim Chief Executive Officer."

Tags: CREDO Petroleum Corporation