Pittsburgh, Pa.-based integrated energy company Equitable Resources Inc. has appointed a new president to its Appalachian natural gas unit, which it has since relocated to Pittsburgh. The parent company also has named a chairman to its board.
Former Shell Oil executive James M. Funk has been appointed president of Equitable Production, the company's Appalachian gas division.
During the first quarter, Equitable Resources completed the acquisition of production assets consisting of nearly 1.1 tcf of proved gas reserves and 6,500 gas wells in the Appalachian basin from Statoil Energy Inc. (OGJ, Feb. 14, 2000, p. 74).
Commenting on Funk's appointment, Equitable Resources Pres. and CEO Murry S. Gerber said, "Our focus is on increasing Equitable Production's operating efficiency and financial returns, and Jim can help us do that by bringing to our Appalachian assets his world-class technical and operational expertise."Gerber recently took on added responsibilities at Equitable Resources after being named its chairman.
Office move
In addition to the executive changes, Equitable Resources has moved its Appalachian gas division unit from Alexandria, Va., to Pittsburgh, bringing with it 25 professional jobs to its headquarter offices.
"The acquisition of Statoil's Appalachian properties and the combination of our Gulf of Mexico assets with Westport Oil & Gas (OGJ, Mar. 20, 2000, p. 32), has allowed Equitable Resources to focus on our core business of Appalachian-area production," said Gerber. "As a result, we have the largest natural gas business in the Appalachian region, with 2.3 tcf of proved reserves adjacent to the largest gas and electricity market in the US. After a careful review, we decided Pittsburgh would serve as the best home for this operation."
The headquarters move, says the firm, is part of its continuing strategy to expand its core energy production business and focus on profitability.
More personnel moves
In other industry personnel moves, David Park has been appointed president and CEO of TrueNorth Energy, Calgary. He was senior vice-president, exploration, of Koch Petroleum Canada. TrueNorth, previously Koch Oil Sands LP, is the operator and 78% owner of the proposed Fort Hills oilsands project at Fort McMurray, Alta.
Named executive vice-president, exploration and production technology of Houston-based Apache Corp. was Michael S. Bahorich. Bahorich was vice-president, exploration and production technology, with Amoco Corp. prior to joining Apache in 1996 as chief geophysicist.
Robert M. Shivers has been named manager, deepwater development, of Vanco Energy Co., Houston. Prior to joining Vanco, Shivers worked for more than 18 years in the drilling and field development sector with Getty Oil Co. and Texaco Inc. Shivers will establish a deepwater drilling and field development team for Vanco's activity off West Africa.
Frank Jacobs has been appointed CEO of Anzoil NL, Perth. Jacobs joined Anzoil as manager, new ventures, in 1999. Before joining Anzoil, Jacobs held management positions with Peko Oil Ltd., Cultus Petroleum NL, and Cue Energy Resources NL.
