Energy Players

Robert "Bobby" L. Parker Jr., grandson of Parker Drilling founder Gifford C. Parker, plans to retire from the Houston-based drilling company after more than 40 years of service. Parker joined the company in 1973 and has held a variety of roles during his tenure including serving as CEO from 1991 to 2009. He was appointed chairman of the board of directors in 2006. Earlier in his career, Parker was elected vice president in 1973, executive vice president in 1976 and president and COO in 1977. Following his exit as an employee of the company December 31, 2013, Parker will continue to serve as chairman of the company's board of directors until the annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2014, at which time Gary G. Rich, the company's CEO, is expected to be nominated to serve as chairman. Parker will be nominated to stand for re-election to the board for an additional three-year term.

Ward Petroleum names Stone VP

Ward Petroleum has named David J. Stone as the new vice president of exploration. Stone, former Marathon Oil North America exploration director, retired after 31 years. During his tenure, he was instrumental in leading them into the Williston Basin Bakken Shale Play, the Anadarko Basin Woodford Shale Play, and several other conventional and resource plays across North America. Stone began his career at Phillips Petroleum in Bartlesville, OK, after earning a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and a master's of science degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

NOV appoints Williams to board

National Oilwell Varco Inc. reports that chairman and CEO Merrill A. "Pete" Miller Jr. intends to step from those positions contemporaneous with the completion of the previously announced plan to spin off to its shareholders its distribution business as an independent, publicly traded company. Miller will become the executive chairman of that publicly traded distribution company on the effective date of the spinoff. Clay Williams has been appointed to the board of directors and is expected to succeed Miller as the company's chairman and CEO. Williams has served as the company's president and COO since December 2012 and previously served as the company's executive vice president and CFO. He served as Varco's vice president and CFO from January 2003 until its merger with the company on March 11, 2005. Pete Miller joined National Oilwell in 1996, and after holding various executive positions, has served as president, CEO and chairman since 2001. He previously served as vice president of US operations for Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co. and as president of Anadarko Drilling Co. Miller received an MBA from Harvard Business School and an engineering degree from the US Military Academy.

NorTex names Moore president, CEO

NorTex Midstream Partners LLC has named Ben Moore to lead the company as president and CEO. He joins NorTex with 25 years of experience in business development, operations, and engineering in both the upstream and midstream energy sectors. Prior to joining NorTex, Moore spent 12 years at Enstor, Iberdrola Renewable's gas storage subsidiary, where he served as vice president of operations and engineering, as well as vice president of business development. Prior to Iberdrola, he served as director of marketing and midstream businesses for Dominion Resources. Moore earned an MBA from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma.

American Energy Partners names former Chesapeake exec COO

Oklahoma City-based American Energy Partners LP has hired Jeff Fisher as its COO. Fisher previously worked for Chesapeake Energy Corp. for 10 years, most recently as executive vice president – production. Prior to Chesapeake, he worked in various engineering and operational leadership roles at BP, Vastar, and Arco. He earned a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Oklahoma State University. American Energy Partners LP is led by its founder, chairman and CEO, Aubrey K. McClendon.

Ale joins Southwestern energy as general counsel

Southwestern Energy Company has appointed John C. Ale as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary effective November 11, 2013. Mark K. Boling will continue to serve as president of V+ Development Solutions, a division of Southwestern Energy Company. Ale most recently was vice president and general counsel of Occidental Petroleum Corp. Previously, he was a partner with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Vinson & Elkins LLP. Ale served as a law court to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger of the US Supreme Court and to Judge Edward Tamm of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. He holds a Juris Doctorate degree and a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia.

API Board elects Chazen as chairman

Occidental Petroleum Corp. president and CEO Stephen I. Chazen has been elected chairman of the American Petroleum Institute's (API) Board of Directors effective January 1, 2014, for a one-year term. Chazen succeeds Marathon Oil Corp.'s executive chairman, Clarence P. Cazalot, Jr. Chazen, who has more than 40 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry, joined Occidental Petroleum in 1994 as executive vice president – corporate development. He was named CFO in 1999 and elected president and CFO in 2007. He was named president and COO and elected to the company's Board of Directors in 2010 and became president and CEO the following year. Prior to joining Occidental, Chazen was a managing director at Merrill Lynch & Co. He holds a PhD in geology from Michigan State University, a master's degree in finance from the University of Houston, and a bachelor's degree in geology from Rutgers College.

Environmental Drilling Solutions makes management additions

Lafayette, LA-based Environmental Drilling Solutions (EDS) has made two senior-level additions to its management team: John Meckert as CEO and John Marty III as business development manager. Meckert joins EDS with 23 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, primarily in oilfield services and drilling. He has spent most of his career at various divisions of Nabors Industries. Most recently, he led the services and rentals division at Canrig Drilling Technology and served as the senior vice president and general manager at Peak USA Energy Services. Meckert holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Penn State University. Marty joins EDS with more than 30 years of experience in the drilling fluid and solids control segment of the oil and gas industry. Most recently, he served as US general manager, solids control, for Strad Energy Services.

Milne joins Wells Fargo Energy Group

Kendal Milne has joined Wells Fargo Energy Group as managing director. Based in Aberdeen, he leads the expansion of the group into the UK. Milne joins the group with almost 40 years of experience in banking, of which the last 15 have been in the energy sector in Aberdeen. He formerly spearheaded the growth of DNB Bank's energy business in the UK. Prior to that, he led the oil and gas group for Barclays Bank.

Proserv taps phillips as country manager, Nigeria

International energy technology services company Proserv has appointed Olu Phillips as country manager in Nigeria. Phillips was previously CFO for oil and gas services company, MRS, with responsibility for a wide geographic remit spanning from Nigeria, Senegal and Guinea to the Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Togo. He joined MRS in 2009 as finance director for Nigeria. Prior to this, he worked for Vetco Gray as financial controller for Nigeria. Phillips studied for ACCA (Association of Certified Chartered Accountants) in London before studying for an MBA at Edinburgh Business School.

DeepFlex promotes Lamego to CEO

DeepFlex has promoted Felipe Lamego from vice president-business development and sales to president and CEO. He will report to the chairman of the DeepFlex board of directors and succeeds Mike Kearney, who has left the company to pursue other interests. Prior to joining DeepFlex in 2012, Lamego was the business development manager for Technip Umbilical Systems. He has held several management roles throughout his career with Technip and has also worked for FMC Technologies.

IPAA elects new leadership

IPAA has elected Mike Watford as chairman and Mark Miller as vice chairman of IPAA for the upcoming 2013-2015 term. The announcement was made at the organization's 84th Annual Meeting in San Antonio in November. Immediate past chairman Gigi Lazenby will remain active on the board of directors. Since 1999, Watford has been the chairman, president, and CEO of Houston-based Ultra Petroleum. Miller is president of Merlin Oil & Gas Inc., a small onshore operation in Lafayette, Louisiana.

DeepOcean names operations director

DeepOcean UK has appointed Simon James as operations director. He joins from GSP Offshore where he was also director of operations. He has 20 years' experience in the oil and gas sector and is a chartered manager and fellow of the CMI.