Personnel Moves and Promotions

Feb. 10, 2003
Two major oil companies have recently appointed top executives.

BP, Shell unit name new top executives

Two major oil companies have recently appointed top executives.

Linda Zarda Cook has been named president and CEO of Shell Canada Ltd., effective in July. Cook, who currently serves as chief executive of Royal Dutch/Shell Group's global gas and power business, succeeds Tim W. Faithfull, who plans to retire in July.

Faithfull
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Faithfull has served with Shell for more than 36 years, joining the company in the UK in 1967. During his years with the company, he served in France, Laos, Cyprus, Kenya, and the UK, primarily in the oil products business. In 1996, he was appointed chairman and CEO of the Singapore Shell companies.

He took over the leadership position for Shell Canada in April 1999.

Cook
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Cook joined Shell as a reservoir engineer in Houston in 1980. During 1980-98, she has held numerous positions of increasing seniority in the exploration and production business of Shell in the US. In 1998, Cook was appointed director, business services, for Shell International Exploration & Production in The Hague. The next year, she was named director, strategy, planning, and new business development.

Meanwhile, Richard Olver has been named deputy chief executive of BP PLC. Olver succeeds Rodney Chase, who will retire from the company Apr. 23 after serving a 38-year career with the firm.

Olver will oversee health, safety, and the environment; human resources management; marketing; and technology and digital business for BP. Regionally, he will have responsibility for Europe (including Russia), the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas.

Separately, Tony Hayward will assume Olver's role as chief executive, exploration and production.

Upstream moves

Higgins
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Murphy Oil Corp. has named two presidents to direct operations for the company's two newly formed exploration and production affiliates.

John C. Higgins has been named president of newly formed Murphy Exploration & Production Co.-USA, and David M. Wood has been named president of newly formed Murphy Exploration & Production Co.-International. Both positions will become effective following the Mar. 1 retirement of Enoch L. Dawkins, president of Murphy E&P Co., who has served the company for 39 years.

Higgins joined Murphy in 1990 as a geologist. In 1993, he was named manager, Gulf of Mexico exploration, and then vice-president, US exploration, in 1995. In 1998, Higgins was named senior vice-president, US exploration and production. In his current position, Higgins will oversee all US E&P activities, excluding Alaska.

Wood
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Wood joined Murphy as manager of frontier exploration in 1994. He was promoted to general manager, frontier exploration, in 1995 and in 1997 was promoted to vice-president, frontier exploration and production. In 1999, he was named senior vice-president, frontier exploration and production. In his new position, along with overseeing all E&P activities outside the US and Canada, Wood mainly will carry responsibilities in Alaska.

Pamela S. Pierce has been appointed president of Huber Energy, a unit of Houston-based J.M. Huber.

Pierce joined Huber Energy in September 2002 after serving as president and CEO of Mirant Corp. unit Mirant Americas Energy.

Pierce
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Before joining Mirant, Pierce held various positions with BP predecessor firm Vastar Resources Inc. and ARCO for 23 years throughout North America, most recently serving as vice-president, business development.

New York-based independent Warren Resources Inc. has named Kenneth A. Gobble to the position of senior vice-president, exploration and production, and Ellis G. Vickers to the position of senior vice-president, land management and regulatory affairs.

Since 1996, Gobble has served as vice-president, engineering, for Petroleum Development Corp. (Pedco), a wholly owned subsidiary of Warren Resources. Previously, he worked for oil services companies, including Schlumberger Well Services.

Gobble succeeds James C. Johnson Jr., who died on Dec. 27, 2002. Johnson had worked as executive vice-president with Warren Resources since September 2000 and served as Pedco's vice-president during 1978-98 and as its president from 1998 until his death.

Vickers will continue to serve as senior vice-president and general counsel of Pedco and as associate general counsel of Warren Resources, positions that he assumed in September 2001. From 1995 until September 2001, Vickers practiced law with New Mexico-based law firm Bozarth & Vickers.

Warren Resources's chairman and CEO Norman F. Swanton assumed the roles of Pedco's president and CEO on an interim basis.

Other moves

Randy Curry has been named president of ChevronTexaco Natural Gas (CTNG), ChevronTexaco Corp.'s new US wholesale natural gas marketing unit. CTNG will be fully operational for April business, the company said.

Meanwhile, ChevronTexaco has terminated its natural gas purchase and sale contracts and related agreements with Houston-based Dynegy Inc., and recently concluded an agreement under which Dynergy will market ChevronTexaco's gas in an agency role through March. Under the agreement, which became effective Feb. 1, Dynegy also "will provide other related transition services to ensure obligations to customers continue to be met during the transition period," ChevronTexaco said.

Curry, who started his career with then-Texaco Inc. in 1988, held a variety of positions in the industry during his tenure, including vice-president, marketing, Texaco Natural Gas Inc. (TNGI) and senior vice-president, pipeline and plant group, TNGI.

Most recently, Curry served as president of Bridgeline Holdings LP, a ChevronTexaco joint venture natural gas pipeline and marketing company.