Stephen R. Brunner will become president of Petro River Oil Corp., joining its executive management team, the company said Nov. 5. His appointment is part of the company’s restructuring process, Petro River added.

Most recently, he was president and CEO of Constellation Energy Partners, and has more than 30 years’ experience in E&P and company management.

Previously, he was executive vice president for Pogo Producing Co., and while there was also the resident manager of Thaipo Ltd., a Thailand-based Pogo subsidiary. Prior to Pogo, Brunner worked at Zilkha Energy Co., Chevron Corp. (CVX) and Tenneco Oil Co.

"I am excited for the opportunity to step-in to a company that once had a great deal of promise. These have been challenging times for small domestic producers, but depressed commodity prices have also created opportunities to take advantage of if you have the staying power and know where to look. My goal is to reposition Petro River to best exploit these opportunities and allow us to add meaningful reserves that create shareholder value," Brunner said.

Petro River Oil Corp. is based in New York.