Douglas Quits as Chairman of Penn Pacific

James L. Douglas, who gained control of Penn Pacific Corp. in 1981, Tuesday announced his resignation as chairman, chief executive and president of the small, struggling Santa Ana-based oil and gas exploration company.

J. Bradley Fearn, 33, who joined Douglas in lending $1 million to help buoy the company four years ago, was elected chairman, chief executive officer and president of Penn Pacific. Fearn, who was formerly executive vice president and director of Penn Pacific, plans to divide his time between Orange County and Mt. Vernon, Ohio, where he heads a foundry company.

“This change was brought about by mutual agreement by all members of the board,” said Jay Hubbard, executive vice president of Penn Pacific.

“It was time to try to get a new team and press on with the debt restructuring and future plans for the company,” said Hubbard. He said the company is negotiating with a “major energy lender,” but declined to identify the lender or discuss details of the company’s debt.

Douglas, 43, will remain on the Penn Pacific board of directors. Penn Pacific Corp. has oil and gas producing properties in Oklahoma. Douglas is also chairman, chief executive and president of American Dynamics Corp. of Santa Ana, which is involved in oil and gas production, cattle breeding and real estate.

For the first nine months of fiscal 1984 ended June 30, Penn Pacific reported a net loss of $600,882 on oil and gas revenues of $1.3 million. For the first nine months of fiscal 1983, the company reported a net loss of $360,000 on oil and gas revenues of $661,000.