John Watson, the CEO of Chevron, is planning to leave his post by the end of next month, according to reports Tuesday.
Chevron’s vice chairman, Mike Wirth, is the leading candidate to replace Watson as leader of the oil and natural gas giant, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Wirth previously ran Chevron’s refining unit, which has earned more profit than any other part of the business since 2015, even with oil prices crashing.
Earlier this year, Wirth was promoted to vice chairman at the oil company, which is the second largest in the U.S. behind Exxon Mobil.
Shares in Chevron went up about 35 percent since Watson took over as CEO in January 2010.
The change in leadership comes as big oil companies face pressure to cut costs and control spending.
Watson oversaw a massive expansion across the world as oil prices boomed.
Wirth would become the latest refining expert to take over a big oil company. In January, Exxon replaced CEO Rex Tillerson, who became President Trump’s secretary of state, with Darren Woods, whose background is in refining.
