Canadian oil firm Talisman today announced the sudden departure of its president and chief executive, John Manzoni.
The UK born executive, who spent 24 years at BP before joining Talisman, had left “effective immediately” after agreeing to step down, the firm added in a statement.
He has been replaced by Alberta-born Hal Kvisle, former president and chief executive officer of TransCanada Corporation and a director at Talisman.
Talisman chairman Chuck Williamson said: “John has made a significant contribution…since he joined the company in 2007.
“His focus on investing in and developing core capabilities will serve Talisman well in the future.”
Mr Manzoni left BP in 2007, two years after the Texas refinery he was in charge of was hit by a fatal blast. He was once tipped to become BP’s chief executive.
Last year, he was given an honorary degree by Aberdeen University.
His departure from Talisman comes just months after it agreed to sell 49% of its UK business for £956million to Chinese oil firm Sinopec, creating a new joint-venture.
Talisman – one of Canada’s largest operators – has itself been seen as a potential takeover target, with a share price lagging behind industry peers.
The firm’s North Sea production slumped to 52,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day in the second quarter, down by 30% on the same period last year, which it blamed on turnarounds, a shut-in to repair a gas export pipeline and mechanical issues at several sites.
Global production was up 4% in the same period, at 429,000 boe per day, but revenue fell to £1.1billion – from £1.4billion in the same period last year – and pre-tax profits more than halved to £339million.