James T. Brown, president and COO of Whiting Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: WLL), is stepping down June 17, the company said April 29.

The announced retirement comes the day before Whiting was set to release its first-quarter 2014 financial and operating results. The Bakken- and Niobrara-focused company is expected to have a solid first-quarter.

When Brown retires, James J. Volker, the chairman and CEO, will become Whiting’s president and also will retain his current responsibilities. Volker, 67, previously served as company president from January 2002 to January 2011. He has 42 years of experience in the oil and gas industry.

Brown joined Whiting in 1995 as a consulting engineer and subsequently served as operations manager, vice president of operations and senior vice president of operations. In January 2011, he was elected president and COO.

“Jim Brown helped build Whiting into one of the premier operators in the Williston and D-J basins,” Volker said. “Jim’s leadership resulted in an exemplary environmental and safety record over his tenure. We thank Jim for his many contributions and we wish Jim and his family all the best.”

Whiting is also promoting several executives. These include the promotions of Rick Ross to senior vice president of operations and Pete Hagis to senior vice president of planning.

Mark Williams, senior vice president of exploration and development, is responsible for the company’s upstream activity and capital budget, as well as for overseeing efforts in identifying, quantifying and developing unconventional oil reservoirs.

The officers will collectively assume responsibility for the duties previously overseen by Brown.

During his 30-year tenure, Williams has led Whiting’s efforts in the discovery and development of the Bakken in North Dakota and the Niobrara in northeastern Colorado.

Whiting is the fourth-most active operator by number of rigs, according to Barclays. Whiting is among several operators whose inventory numbers are expected to ratchet higher in the Bakken and Niobrara, said Mike Kelly, senior analyst for Global Hunter Securities.

In Kelly’s April 29 earnings preview, Whiting was expected to have a positive, but not standout, first-quarter due to weather conditions in the Bakken and Niobrara.

WLL Operations Forecast

GHS

Consensus

EPS

$0.98

$0.96

CFPS

$3.82

$3.67

EBITDA

$492MM

$486MM

Production forecast, Mboe/d

99.9

Guidance: 98.9-101.1

Source: Global Hunter Securites

“Expect any first-quarter financial weakness to be easily offset by positive results from higher density pilots and also new completion approaches in the Bakken,” Kelly said.

He also foresees that a “further Niobrara love fest” is likely, with management likely to concede that its 16 well per section assumption is conservative and that the industry is now at 24 wells per section.