Diamondback Energy CEO Stice to step down, CFO Van't Hof to succeed

Adds details on CEO in paragraph 2 and background in paragraphs 6 to 9

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Diamondback Energy said on Thursday CEO Travis Stice intends to step down from his role after 13 years at the helm during the company's 2025 annual stockholders meeting and will be succeeded by finance head Kaes Van't Hof.

Stice has been leading Diamondback since January 2012 and joined the board in November 2012 following the shale firm's initial public offering. Prior to his tenure as CEO, he served as the company's chief operating officer from April 2011 to January 2012.

He will also step down as the CEO of Viper Energy Partners LP VNOM.O, one of Diamondback's publicly traded subsidiaries.

Van't Hof has been the chief financial officer since February 2022 and previously served as the CFO and executive vice president of business development for three years, Diamondback said.

Effective on Thursday, Jere Thompson, current executive vice president of strategy and corporate development, will assume the company's CFO role.

The moves come ahead of Diamondback's quarterly earnings on February 24. Last month, the company flagged lower prices for its oil production in the fourth quarter, compared to the preceding three months.

However, a near 30% rise in U.S. natural gas prices NGc1 is expected to offer some respite to shale producers' earnings for the quarter.

On Tuesday, Diamondback said it would buy certain units of EnCap Investments-backed energy producer Double Eagle for $4.08 billion in cash and stock, expanding its presence in the oil-rich U.S. Permian Basin.

The shale firm has been doubling down on the Permian Basin, which straddles West Texas and New Mexico, striking a $26-billion deal in 2024 to buy rival Endeavor Energy Partners to become the third-largest producer in the region.