J.C. Ridens named president and CEO of Great Western Oil and Gas Company, LLC

DENVER, June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- J.C. Ridens, a successful oil-and-gas executive who has worked in the industry for more than 30 years, was today named president and chief executive officer of Great Western Oil and Gas Company, LLC, which has grown in recent years to become a top producer in Colorado's Denver-Julesburg Basin.

"I am excited to be joining a dynamic organization supported by the strengths of The Broe Group," said Ridens, who was formerly executive vice president and chief operating officer of Forest Oil Corp., based in Denver.  "Great Western Oil & Gas Company is a fast-growing company with great opportunities in the Denver-Julesburg Basin and other Rocky Mountain basins, where we will be very aggressive in acquisitions, exploration and production. I'm looking forward to leveraging my experience to help grow Great Western Oil & Gas Company into a multi-billion-dollar company."

Great Western Oil & Gas Company, based in Denver, is an affiliate of The Broe Group.

"J.C. Ridens is the right leader at the right time for Great Western Oil & Gas Company," said Pat Broe, who founded The Broe Group in 1972. "His industry experience and leadership will launch a great energy company into a new era of growth. The energy sector is booming and we intend to pursue every strategic opportunity we can."

While at Forest Oil Corp., Ridens managed all operational aspects for four business units with production totaling 500 million cubic feet equivalent per day and annual capital budgets ranging from $570 million to $1.4 billion. Before being named to that position in 2007, Ridens served as a senior vice president for Forest in several regions.

While at Forest, horizontal drilling was a key focus for the last five years with horizontal wells drilled in East Texas, Canada, the Texas Panhandle, Haynesville Shale and Eagle Ford Shale. In total, approximately 100 horizontal wells were successfully drilled and completed with maximum initial rates of over 50 million cubic feet equivalent per day being achieved in the Panhandle. Forest also completed over $1 billion of acquisitions and over $2 billion of divestitures during this time frame.

Mr. Ridens and his wife Carol live in Littleton, Colo., and have four children.

Great Western Oil & Gas Company is a privately-held independent exploration and production company with principal operations in the Colorado Denver-Julesburg Basin and in the North Dakota Williston Basin. It is an aggressive growth company engaged in the acquisition and development of oil and natural gas resources. For more, see www.gwogco.com.

Great Western Oil & Gas Company was founded by The Broe Group, based in Denver, which also owns and manages a broad portfolio of real estate holdings throughout North America. Its transportation affiliate, OmniTRAX, Inc., is a leading transportation services firm with railroad, port and terminal operations throughout North America. For more, see www.broe.com.

SOURCE Great Western Oil & Gas Company