AWE Ltd. CEO Bruce Clement will step down in 2016 after five and a half years in the role of CEO, the company said in a news release.

The news is in line with the company’s succession planning strategy. AWE said it has begun a search for a new CEO.

“Until he steps down, Bruce will continue as (managing director) and CEO with the strong support of the board. His main focus will be to drive the development of AWE’s onshore gas projects in Western Australia, and lead the implementation of the company’s strategy to address the impact of the fall in global oil prices to ensure AWE can continue to advance its growth projects in a lower oil price environment,” AWE Chairman Bruce Phillips said in the news release.

Phillips said Clement has presided over a period of significant change for AWE, increasing reserves and resources through “astute asset management, such as the purchase and sell down of the Ande Ande Lumut oil project in Indonesia, exploration success in the onshore Perth Basin in Western Australia, and the significant increase of reserves and production at Sugarloaf in the USA.”

The company’s 2P reserves to production ratio now stands at 22 years at current production rates, Phillips said.