Imperial Oil Ltd. (TO: IMO) has appointed R.M. “Rich” Kruger as chairman, president and CEO effective March 1.

Kruger, currently president of ExxonMobil Production Co., succeeds B.H. “Bruce” March, who has been appointed senior vice president of global operations for ExxonMobil Chemical Co.

In his new position, March will have responsibilities for ExxonMobil Chemical’s worldwide engineering, manufacturing technology and manufacturing operations, which include 17 major manufacturing sites in 11 countries.

According to the release, Kruger began his career with Exxon in 1981 in Houston and has held various technical, supervisory, and management positions throughout the US. He has also served as technical manager for Exxon’s engineering activities in the former Soviet Union, vice president of Africa deepwater for ExxonMobil Development Co., director and chairman of ExxonMobil’s subsidiaries in Malaysia, and vice president of Asia Pacific/Middle East for ExxonMobil Production Co.

He was appointed vice president of the US for ExxonMobil Production Co. in 2005 and in 2006 was named executive vice president of ExxonMobil Production Co. He was appointed president of ExxonMobil Production Co. and elected a vice president of Exxon Mobil Corp. in 2008.

Headquartered in Calgary, Imperial Oil Ltd. engages in the exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) is majority owner of Imperial.