Frontier Oil Corp.: Blazing a Trail Under New Leadership

Houston-based Frontier Oil Corp. will begin the new year with a new face as president and CEO. Mike Jennings, 43, will take over for Jim Gibbs, who currently holds both positions, on Jan. 1. Jennings will assume the role as the company looks to rebound from what's turned out to be a challenging year.

For the first nine months of 2008, Frontier Oil's profit fell to $177.6 million, or $1.71 per share, compared with $455.7 million, or $4.19, a share during the same period in 2007. The third quarter ended with net income dropping 47% to $72.3 million, or 70 cents per share.

Profits have slipped due to decreasing gasoline demand and lower prices. But Gibbs noted that production at the company's refineries in El Dorado, Kansas, and Cheyenne, Wyo., position Frontier Oil to weather economic downturns.

"Despite the distressed economy and persisting weakness in gasoline demand this year, Frontier has remained profitable due to strong diesel margins, lower cost feedstock and improving operations," he said. "Significant components of our major growth investments in the El Dorado and Cheyenne refineries are now complete and producing record throughputs and yields."

Gibbs noted that the El Dorado refinery averaged 127,000 barrels per day of total crude throughput in September and that the Cheyenne coker has been consistently operating at more than 13,500 barrels per day.

Jennings, who currently serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer, echoed Gibbs' sentiments of resiliency when he was named CEO in early November.

"Following the substantial investments made at Frontier during the past three years to upgrade and expand our refining capacity, the company is positioned to succeed and grow despite a challenging market environment for petroleum refiners," Jennings said.

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