Royal Dutch Shell PLC was named Ben Van Beurden as chief executive officer effective Jan. 1, 2014. He succeeds Peter Voser who will leave at the end of March 2014, marking the end of 29 years with the company.
Van Beurden served as downstream director since January. He joined Shell in 1983 and has held a number of technical and commercial roles in both the upstream and downstream businesses. He has worked in The Netherlands, Africa, Malaysia, the US, and most recently, the UK. In January 2005, Van Beurden became vice-president, manufacturing excellence, based in Houston. In this role he was responsible for standards in operational excellence and high-performance initiatives in refining and chemicals manufacturing.
In December 2006, he was appointed executive vice-president, chemicals, based in London. During his tenure in the role, Van Beurden was appointed to the boards of a number of leading industry associations including the International Council of Chemicals Associations and the European Chemical Industry Council.
Upstream moves
Lee M. Tillman, most recently vice-president of engineering for ExxonMobil Development Co., was named president and chief executive officer of Marathon Oil Corp., succeeding Clarence P. Cazalot Jr.
Tillman, a chemical engineering graduate of Texas A&M University with a PhD in chemical engineering from Auburn University, began his career with Exxon in 1989.
Cazalot, who led Marathon Oil for almost 14 years, will retire Dec. 31.
Whiting Petroleum Corp., Denver, has named Steven A. Kranker as vice-president, reservoir engineering/acquisitions. Kranker joined Whiting in March as first director, acquisitions/reservoir engineering.
Prior to joining Whiting, Kranker was manager, reserves, for Bill Barrett Corp. His previous experience includes reservoir engineering positions with Forest Oil Corp., Brunei Shell Petroleum, Arco Alaska Inc., Conoco Inc., and Shell Western E&P Inc.
J. Douglas Lang, Whiting's vice-president of reservoir engineering/acquisitions, retired effective June 30. Lang joined Whiting in December 1999 and was appointed vice-president, reservoir engineering/acquisitions, in October 2004.
SandRidge Energy Inc., Oklahoma City, has named James Bennett as chief executive officer and president. Lead independent director Jeffrey Serota will serve as interim nonexecutive chairman.
Separately, SandRidge announced that Tom Ward, former chairman and chief executive officer, is leaving the company.
Bennett served as chief financial officer since January 2011 and was promoted to president in March. Prior to joining the company, he was managing director for White Deer Energy, a private equity fund focused on the oil and gas industry.
From 2006 to December 2009, Bennett was employed by GSO Capital Partners, where he served in various capacities in its energy group, including managing director. Bennett succeeds Ward, who founded the company in 2006 and has served as chairman and chief executive officer since it was founded.
Downstream, other moves
Citgo Petroleum Corp. has appointed Nelson P. Martinez as president and chief executive officer. Martinez also was appointed chairman and member of the board.
He brings more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry to his new role, including broad international experience and knowledge of the refining industry.
Martinez most recently served as executive director for PDVSA America and managing director for PDVSA Argentina.
The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers has elected Gordon Birrell to serve as chair of its management committee. He was elected at the OGP's recent annual general meeting in Brisbane.
Birrell, who has represented BP PLC on OGP's management committee for 4 years, became BP's regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey in 2012. Previously, during the course of a 25-year career in the upstream oil and gas industry, Birrell held a variety of senior roles with special focus on the management of safety, operational risk, and production.
The management committee's newly elected vice-chairs include Ian MacDonald of Chevron Corp. and Michel Contie of Total SA.
OGP's members include most of the world's leading publicly traded, private, and state-owned oil and gas companies, associations, and major upstream service companies.
The International Energy Agency has appointed Kenneth J. Fairfax, a career diplomat in the US State Department currently serving as US ambassador to Kazakhstan, as deputy executive director. Fairfax will take up his full duties at the end of September.
He will succeed Richard H. Jones, another former US career diplomat who has served as deputy executive director since October 2008.
In a career that spanned over 25 years at the US Department of State, Fairfax has held economic, management, and consular positions in Iraq, Vietnam, Poland, Ukraine, Canada, the Russian Federation, Korea, and Oman.
He also served as director of nuclear materials security at the US National Security Council, reporting to the US president on interagency co-ordination and implementation of policies to reduce the risk of illegal trafficking of nuclear materials and equipment.
His experience in the energy field includes promoting US business in the hydrocarbon sector in Kazakhstan, supporting Iraqi leaders in efforts to increase oil production and exports by over 100 percent, working on the modernization of the energy sector in Ukraine and acting as science, technology and environment officer at the US Embassy in Moscow.
