Boston, MA 10/21/2013 (wallstreetpr) – SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE:SD) former Chief Executive Officer, Tom Ward, who turned SandRidge Energy Inc. into a $10 billion company, has begun a new venture to acquire natural gas and oil wells. He was fired as CEO in June. The 54 year old Ward said that he is dipping into his own capital to sponsor the closely held Tapstone Energy.
After investors questioned the transactions that were made by him and his family with the company, he was removed from Oklahoma City-based SandRidge. After a few days, an activist shareholder was given the authority to gain control of the board.
At the Bloomberg Link Oil & Gas Conference, on Thursday, in Houston, Ward said that he is long-term bullish on natural gas in the United States so he has decided to lean towards natural gas. He said that after leaving SandRidge earlier this year, he has been trading agricultural and energy commodities.
When Ward was at the SandRidge, he avoided following other energy producers into oil shale formations. He always favoured older conventional resources. The market value of the company reached $10 billion in the year 2008, while now; it is around $3 billion. From 2009 to 2012, Ward spent $3.6 billion on older reserves, with the objective of cutting on production costs as the prices of crude rose. He turned SandRidge into the most leveraged producer because of his buying spree by early last year.
Ward was removed before he could reach his goal of doubling the production of oil by the end of 2014, reducing its debt ratio, and tripling earnings before amortization, depreciation, interests, and taxes. In the year 2006, he started SandRidge after he left Chesapeake Energy Corp., which was co-founded by him along with Aubrey McClendon. Ward was eligible to get a $53.3 million lump sum because his termination at SandRidge was without cause.
