New Gulf Resources LLC appointed Ralph A. Hill as its CEO and chairman of its board of managers, the company said March 31, noting that he will replace Tracy Poole as CEO.

Hill had been CEO and president of WPX Energy Inc. (NYSE: WPX), the company added.

Hill will begin his new roles on July 1, New Gulf noted.

He said, "I am very excited for the opportunity to lead this team. New Gulf, under Tracy's leadership, has a strong track record of value creation and a fantastic suite of assets. Over time, we will become one of the leading independent oil producers in East Texas."

Hill added, "We expect this strong East Texas foundation to be the catalyst to achieve our vision of being a premier independent exploration and production company. Over the last ninety days I have been laser-focused on the next chapter of my career. After careful scrutiny of the opportunities throughout the energy industry, I am confident that NGR offers the best combination of a strong team with organic growth opportunities and a clear focus on value creation."

Currently, New Gulf Resources focuses on its East Texas operations, the company said. It recently contracted to acquire acreage in a horizontally-drilled area, New Gulf said.

The acquisition would put the company’s total leased East Texas mineral acreage at more than 90,000 net acres, and would put its production at more than 3,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), New Gulf said.

Tulsa, Okla.-based New Gulf Resources LLC owns, manages and operates upstream energy projects in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.