Citgo Petroleum Corp., Tulsa, has elected Citgo Executive Vice-Pres. Antonio Rivero to the board along with Nelson Martínez and Dester Rodríguez, both on the Petróleos de Venezuela SA board.
Last month, Rivero was named to direct a task force examining the implications of possibly moving the Citgo headquarters from Tulsa to Houston The task force's recommendations are expected by Dec. 31.
Martínez, hired by PDVSA as commerce and supply director in January, was transferred to Europe in late July.
An Army colonel, Rodríguez was named PDVSA director in March. In December 2002, he was appointed as a member of PDVSA's restructuring committee.
In other downstream news, Mike Ciskowski, executive vice-president, corporate development, was named chief financial officer of Valero Energy Corp., San Antonio.
He succeeds Danny Gibbons, who retired after 22 years with the company. Ciskowski has been with Valero for 18 years, serving in various financial planning and corporate development jobs.
Joe Gorder was named senior vice-president, corporate development. Previously, he was vice-president, corporate development, for Valero LP.
Before joining Valero, Gorder served as vice-president, business development, for Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corp., which merged with Valero in a $6 billion transaction (OGJ Online, Jan. 2, 2002).
Upstream moves
OAO Yukos has appointed Steven Michael Theede as chief operating officer and Thomas Wayne Nicewarner as chief information officer.
Previously, Theede was president of exploration and production in Europe, Russia, and the Caspian for ConocoPhillips. Before that, he worked for Conoco Inc. in numerous management positions in refining and marketing as well as exploration and production.
Nicewarner previously was Conoco's chief information officer in Houston. Before that, he held management posts in supply and transportation, marketing, and natural gas and gas processing and also was president of Conoco Venezuela SA.
OAO Yukos and OAO Sibneft are in the process of merging into a company that will be Russia's largest oil and gas company and will rank among the world's largest oil producers (OGJ, Apr. 28, 2003, p. 32). That deal is expected to close by Dec. 31.
Robert P. Strode was named Amerada Hess Corp. senior vice-president, global exploration and new ventures, to succeed Brian F. Maxted, who resigned. Strode joined Amerada Hess in April 2000 as senior vice-president, US exploration and production. Previously, he worked for BP PLC predecessor Atlantic Richfield Co. and its affiliate Vastar Resources Inc.
Marathon Oil Corp. has appointed Thomas K. Sneed chief information officer. Sneed had been manager, information technology services, for Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC since September 2002. He joined Marathon in 1981 as a programmer.
Wiser Oil Co., Dallas, named Eric G. Panchy president of Wiser Oil Co. Canada, succeeding Harold T. Thornton, who retired after 14 years with Wiser Oil Canada and predecessors.
Having joined Wiser in 2001, Panchy was Wiser Canada's vice-president, exploration, before his promotion to president.
William N. Young III was named vice-president, marketing, of Spinnaker Exploration Co., Houston.
Young joined Spinnaker in May 2003 as director, oil and gas marketing. Before joining Spinnaker, he had provided consulting services for the company since 1998.
Mark Whitley has joined Quicksilver Resources Inc., Fort Worth, Tex., as vice-president, operations. Whitley has more than 28 years of oil and gas operations experience. He was with Mitchell Energy & Development Corp., The Woodlands, Tex., for 20 years until its merger with Devon Energy Corp., Oklahoma City.
For Devon, Whitley directed exploration of the Fort Worth basin Barnett shale natural gas play.
