Personnel and Promotions

May 19, 2003
Petrobras names Dutra to administration council, appoints executives

Petrobras names Dutra to administration council, appoints executives

José Eduardo Dutra, the recently installed president of Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), was among those named to Petrobras's administration council, which includes other government ministers and outside directors.

Celso Fernando Lucchesi was named to assist Dutra with corporate strategy and management. Nestor Cerveró was named international director.

José Sérgio Gabrielli de Azevedo is finance director, and Guilherme de Oliveira Estrella is director of exploration and production.

Newly appointed executives reporting to Estrella are: Francisco Nepomuceno, corporate manager; Solange da Silva Guedes, north-northeast; José Antonio de Figueiredo, south-southeast; Reinaldo Belotti Vargas, services.

General managers of E&P business units are Plínio César de Mello, Campos basin; Márcio Bezerra, Espírito Santo; Antônio José Rivas, Bahia; Eugênio Dezen, Sergipe-Alagoas; Fernando Ricardo Afonso de Oliveira Lima, Rio Grande do Norte-Ceará; Szen Wolff, Solimões (Amazon).

Ildo Luis Sauer is director of gas and energy, and answering to him is Rafael Mauro Comino, manager of international energy.Renato Duque is the services director. His executive managers are Armando Cavanha Filho, materials; Carlos Tadeu da Costa Fraga, Cenpes, Petrobras's research and development center; Pedro José Barusco, engineering; Washington Salles, information technology.

Rodolfo Landim is president of BR, Petrobras's oil products distributing subsidiary.

Djamel Eddine Khene was named chairman of Sonatrach, Algeria's state-run oil company, in the first major decision by the newly appointed Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia.

Khene, former Sonatrach vice-president for exploration and production, takes over as chairman from Oil Minister Chakib Khelil, who served as Sonatrach interim chairman since February 2001. Khelil remains oil minister, while Sonatrach veteran Mohamed Raffa Babaghayou will assume Khene's E&P slot.

More upstream moves

ChevronTexaco Corp. named Sam Laidlaw as its executive vice-president, business development.

The former CEO of the London-based Enterprise Oil PLC, Laidlaw will report to ChevronTexaco Chairman and CEO Dave O'Reilly.

Laidlaw is responsible for identifying and developing new, large-scale business opportunities worldwide. He also serves on the corporation's executive and strategic planning committees.

Karl F. Arleth has been named president and CEO of Teton Petroleum Co., Denver, while John Mahar was named chief financial officer, effective May 20.

Arleth, on the board as an outside director since early 2002, succeeds Teton CEO Howard Cooper, who remains as chairman. Cooper founded Teton, a public company with all of its operating assets in Russia.

Arleth joins Teton from the Denver-based Sefton Resources Inc., where he was chief operating officer. He remains on Sefton's board as a nonexecutive director.

Mahar is managing director and cofounder of Gladstone Capital LLC, a New York oil and gas financial advisory firm. Mahar will succeed Tom Conroy, who resigned to devote full time to his consulting firm.

The Vancouver, BC-based Tag Oil Ltd. appointed Drew Cadenhead as its president and CEO, effective immediately. Cadenhead succeeded Alan Hart, who retained his post as Tag Oil chairman.

Cadenhead directs Tag Oil's international operations, including the Mt. Messenger project in the Taranaki basin of New Zealand's North Island.

Stroud Oil Properties Inc., Fort Worth, Tex., named Patrick J. Noyes its president and CEO.

Noyes has more than 27 years of petroleum industry experience. Most recently, he was vice-president of drilling and services for Mitchell Energy & Development Corp., The Woodlands, Tex.

Collarini
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Explore Enterprises LLC, Covington, La., named Cheryl R. Collarini its vice-president of engineering and Leon Hirsch its vice-president of engineering.

CEO William C. Bethea and Pres. David McCubbin formed the privately owned Explore Enterprises Jan. 8 to pursue acquisition and exploitation of producing properties in the Gulf of Mexico region.

Collarini has almost 30 years experience in reservoir engineering, property evaluation, and business leadership. Collarini

Hirsch is based in Explore Enterprises' Houston office. He most recently served as land and negotiations manager for BP PLC's Mexico business unit.

He has more than 30 years experience in exploration, development, regulatory, and merger and acquisition activities.

Spinnaker Exploration Co., Houston, named Scott A. Griffiths as its executive vice-president and chief operating officer.

In March 2002, Griffiths became Ocean Energy Inc. senior vice-president, worldwide exploration. The Houston-based Ocean Energy since has been consolidated into Devon Energy Corp., Oklahoma City (OGJ Online, Feb. 24, 2003).

Griffiths joined Ocean from Seagull Energy Corp. following those two companies' merger (OGJ, Dec. 28, 1998, p. 26).

Williams Cos. Inc., Tulsa, named Donald R. Chappel its senior vice-president and chief financial officer.

Chappel most recently founded and served as CEO of a Chicago development business. Previously, he served twice as chief financial officer of Waste Management Inc.

He succeeded Jack McCarthy, who retired on Dec. 31, 2002, after 10 years as Williams's chief financial officer. Gary Belitz, who had served as acting chief financial officer, continues to serve as controller and chief accounting officer.

Suncor Energy Inc. announced the promotions of Steven Williams and Mike Ashar to help implement the Calgary-based company's growth strategy.

Williams, executive vice-president, corporate development, and chief financial officer, will move to Fort McMurray, Alta., in July to lead the company's oil sands operations.

His primary role as of July will be to help Suncor increase oil sands production to 500,000-550,000 b/d by 2012 from its current capacity of 225,000 b/d.

Ashar, oil sands executive vice-president, will move to Denver to lead Suncor's new US downstream business, Suncor Energy USA.

He will oversee the operation of Suncor's pending US refinery, pipeline, and retail assets. He also will continue Suncor's search for downstream assets south of the border and will be responsible for Suncor's business strategy development. Ashar joined Suncor in 1987 and has led the oil sands operations since 1996.