Tellurian says CEO Meg Gentle leaving firm, names Octavio Simoes as successor

Dec 1 (Reuters) - U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer Tellurian Inc said late on Monday that president and chief executive Meg Gentle is leaving the company and will be succeeded by Octavio Simoes, previously executive vice president of LNG Marketing and Business Development.

Tellurian announced the changes in a statement without saying why Gentle, who has been with Tellurian since August 2016, is leaving. Gentle could not immediately be contacted for comment.

Simoes joined Tellurian in 2019 as senior advisor to the chief executive and was previously chief executive and president of Sempra LNG & Midstream, where he was responsible for all LNG and natural gas midstream activities, according to an earlier statement.

In what has been a tough year for the LNG industry due to the coronavirus pandemic squeezing fuel demand, several LNG developers have been putting off making a final investment decision on LNG projects.

Tellurian is yet to make a final investment decision on its proposed $27.5 billion Driftwood LNG export plant in Louisiana which is designed to produce 27.6 million tonnes per annum of LNG. (Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan in Singapore; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)