James J. O'Brien, currently serving as president and chief operating officer of Ashland Inc., has been elected to serve as CEO of the Covington, Ky.-based firm effective Oct. 1. As previously reported, O'Brien will become chairman of the company effective Nov. 15, when the company's current chairman, Paul W. Chellgren, retires (OGJ Online, Aug.13, 2002).
O'Brien joined Ashland in 1976. During that time, he served in the company's chemical and petroleum marketing operations. During 1992-94, O'Brien served as executive assistant to former Ashland Chairman John R. Hall. In 1994, O'Brien was named vice-president and general manager, branded marketing, for the former Ashland Petroleum Co. He then was appointed vice-president of the company and president of Valvoline. In 1997, O'Brien then was named senior vice-president of Ashland.
Earlier this year, he relinquished his position at Valvoline to become group operating officer of Ashland, heading up its specialty chemical and distribution arms.
Other moves
Charles B. Stanley has been named president and CEO of Questar Market Resources (QMR), a unit of Salt Lake City-based Questar Corp. and executive vice-president of Questar. Stanley succeeds Gary L. Nordloh, who will retire as QMR president and CEO and executive vice-president of Questar effective Nov. 1.
Nordloh, who has served in his current positions since 1991, will retain a position on QMR's board and remain as an advisor to senior management.
Currently, Stanley serves as executive vice-president and chief operating officer of QMR. Stanley joined Questar in February. He began his professional career in 1981 as a research and field geologist for the Virginia Geological Survey, Charlottesville, Va. During 1984-89, Stanley was involved with exploration and appraisal for BP PLC.
Starting in 1989, he served in a variety of capacities with Maxus Energy Corp., Dallas, including vice-president, international exploration and development. In 1995, Stanley joined Coastal Corp., Houston, where he served 4 years as president, CEO, and director of Coastal Gas International Co. After Coastal was acquired by Houston-based El Paso Corp., Stanley was named president and CEO of El Paso's Canadian E&P business unit.
Chris Haynes, currently CEO of Woodside Energy Ltd.-led North West Shelf Ventures, has accepted a position as Royal Dutch/Shell Group's country chairman in Syria and chief executive of Al Furat Petroleum Co. Haynes joined Woodside Petroleum in July 1999.
Succeeding Haynes effective Nov. 4 will be Steve Ollerearnshaw, who presently serves as managing director of Oman's major oil, gas, and LNG producer Petroleum Development Oman. Previously, Ollerearnshaw worked for Shell in the Middle East, Malaysia, and Nigeria, where he served as managing director of Nigeria LNG.
North West Shelf Venture partners are operator Woodside, BHP Billiton (North West Shelf) Pty. Ltd., BP Developments Australia Pty. Ltd., ChevronTexaco Australia Pty. Ltd., Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty. Ltd., and Shell Development (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
Archie W. Dunham, chairman of ConocoPhillips, has been named to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council. Established by President George W. Bush in 2001, NIAC advises on information systems' security for critical infrastructure that supports various economic sectors including energy, banking and finance, transportation, and manufacturing.
"Infrastructures that benefit modern society are dependent on information technology, and the security of that technology is a national necessity," Dunham said. He joined Conoco Inc. (now ConocoPhillips) as an associate engineer in 1966 and has served in nearly every aspect of the company, including exploration, production, refining, and marketing.