Energy Players

DNB Bank, an international shipping and energy bank, has appointed Vidar Andersen its new Head of Asia, based in Singapore. Mats Wermelin has been appointed the bank's new Head of China based in Shanghai, a post which was previously held by Andersen. Andersen assumes control of the bank's operations across Asia after eight years in Shanghai. He was first vice president of Energy, Trade & Industry then, since 2011, senior vice president and Head of China. Andersen joined DNB in 2001. He worked in both Oslo and New York prior to Shanghai. Erik Borgen, who had previously held the position since 2004, stepped down to pursue other interests. He had served the bank for 34 years in Oslo, New York, and Singapore. Before relocating to Shanghai for his new position, Wermelin spent seven years as Head of Corporate Banking, Sweden, in the bank's Stockholm office. WestSide appoints new CEO

WestSide Corp. Ltd. has named Mike Hughes as CEO. Hughes previously worked as gas supply director for Santos Ltd.'s Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas (GLNG) project. Hughes has over 20 years' experience in the international oil and gas industry. Previously, he played an instrumental role in building and running the South East Asian operations of Hess Corp. before joining the GLNG project in 2009. Hughes holds a master's degree in mathematics from Oxford University and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Briscoe departs Weatherford CFO post

Geneva, Switzerland-based Weatherford International filed a Form 8-K with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, that noted, in part, the departure of the company's CFO, John H. Briscoe, effective September 12, 2013. Briscoe joined Weatherford as chief accounting officer two years ago and was named CFO in March 2012. The departure had been "in the works for several months," noted Cowen and Company analysts after the filing, who continued that the transition is not a surprise and "not indicative that there are renewed financial concerns at the company." Executive VP and CAO Dharmesh Mehta will lead the company's efforts to find a replacement.

The WellMark Company names CFO

The WellMark Company, an Oklahoma-based manufacturer of products for the petroleum and petrochemical industries, recently added Mike Easton as director of engineering and John Miller as CFO. Prior to working with The WellMark Company, Easton was the engineering manager for Circor Energy Products, where he ran the engineering departments for KF Industries, Contromatics, Mallard Controls and Hydroseal. He received his engineering physics degree from the University of Central Oklahoma. Prior to working with The Wellmark Company, Miller was the director of finance for Electro-Motive Diesel. He received his master of science in accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne.

LNG lawyer joins Baker & McKenzie

Natalie Regoli has joined Baker & McKenzie's North America Banking, Finance and Major Projects Practice as a partner in Houston. Regoli has extensive experience advising on the entire lifecycle of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, having recently served as the lead lawyer managing a $15 billion LNG facility in Angola. Regoli received her BA in Economics from the University of Washington, and earned her JD from The University of Texas School of Law. Prior to joining the firm, Regoli was senior counsel supporting Chevron Global Technology Services Company, which provided services to the $15 billion Angola LNG Project. Prior to joining Angola LNG, Regoli was in private practice and worked as an energy investment banker. She studied at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, and has strong experience dealing with matters in Asia Pacific.

JP Morgan names head of Corporate Client Banking Energy Group

JP Morgan has named Mike Lister head of its Corporate Client Banking Energy Group. Based in Dallas, Lister will manage a team of corporate bankers who provide traditional banking services and investment banking products to large exploration and production, midstream, and energy service companies. He will also oversee all energy relationships across the firm's Commercial Banking business. A 23-year banking veteran, Lister began his career with the firm's energy practice in Houston before moving into a number of corporate and investment banking roles in the Southwest. In addition to his new role, he will continue to lead the firm's Corporate Client Banking business in the Southwest.

Sætre joins AGR to lead Norway rig team, Stavanger office

Jorunn Sætre has joined AGR as leader of the company's Norwegian rig team and the company's Stavanger office. With 30 years in the international energy industry, Sætre recently returned to Norway. Previously, she held the role of vice president with Halliburton, working in Houston, with responsibility for technology and production enhancement activities. She was previously Country VP for Halliburton Scandinavia for 10 years. She is an engineering graduate of Bergen Ingeniørhøgskole.

Phillips joins Houston office of Jones Walker LLP

Jeff Phillips has joined the Houston office of Jones Walker LLP as a partner in the firm's Business & Commercial Litigation Practice Group. Phillips' practice focuses on intellectual property matters in a broad range of areas, including oil and gas, chemical processes and catalysts, advanced biofuels, internal combustion engines, complex mechanical systems, and computer and software related technologies. His litigation experience includes both patent enforcement and patent defense in federal courts throughout the US. Prior to beginning his legal career, Phillips provided worldwide technical and operations support for olefins and aromatics plants at ExxonMobil Corp. where he was named a co-inventor of US Patent Nos. 6,855,858 and 7,678,958 titled, "Method of Removing Dimethyl Ether from an Olefin Stream."

Thibault Joins Haynes and Boone

Bob Thibault, a veteran lawyer with over 30 years of experience, has joined the Haynes and Boone LLP Energy Practice Group as Of Counsel in the Houston office. In his dispute resolution practice, Thibault emphasizes the use of engineering and scientific experts within the relevant administrative and regulatory environments. He has litigated and advised on matters involving royalty payments, gas sales and purchases contracts, lease operations and termination, and gas processing plants and storage facilities. He also represents clients in negotiating and drafting acquisition and operations related agreements for domestic and international oil and gas transactions, and has directly managed the acquisition and sale of participating equity interests in international concessions in the Republic of Guinea in West Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Australia. Thibault's previous experience includes serving as Texaco Inc.'s senior attorney.

Iqbal promoted to senior VP at Associated Bank

Farhan Iqbal has been promoted to senior vice president, relationship manager, with Associated Bank where he is responsible for portfolio management, deal structuring, negotiating terms sheets, financial modeling, documentation, credit analysis, capital raising, leveraged acquisitions, and account reviews. With more than 15 years of experience in the energy industry and banking, Iqbal specializes in the financial services critical to oil and gas industry clients. Iqbal earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance with honors from The University of Texas and a Master in Business Administration degree in finance, with an emphasis in energy and banking, from Rice University.

Lighthouse Petroleum names Danos chairman, CEO

Lighthouse Petroleum Inc. has appointed Gerard Danos to chairman and CEO. Danos has served as president of Lighthouse Petroleum since April 2013. Danos, a private investor and entrepreneur, previously held positions with Treaty Energy Corp., including COO, secretary, and board member. Prior to joining Treaty Energy, he was owner/principal at St. Catherine's Hospice LLC. Danos also served as vice president and director for Medico LLC. Danos received his bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.

OXY names Backus VP, general counsel

Occidental Petroleum Corp. has appointed Marcia E. Backus as vice president and general counsel. Backus previously served as a partner at Vinson & Elkins in Houston where she led the firm's Energy Transactions/Projects Practice Group, representing industry and private equity companies in domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity investments, project development and other energy transactions. She served in numerous leadership positions with Vinson & Elkins, including the firm wide management committee, co-chair of the corporate department and as chair of the partnership admissions committee. Backus holds a bachelor's degree, awarded Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Texas, and a JD with high honors from the University of Texas School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif honorary scholastic society. She is co-founder of the school's Center for Women in Law.

King & Spalding establishes energy team in Paris

A five-lawyer team of energy lawyers from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has joined King & Spalding's Paris office, led by partner Mehdi Haroun, former head of the North Africa practice at HSF. The team includes Philippe Trosset and Ruxandra Lazar, both counsels, and associates Nora Djeraba and Marion Morvan, recently joined by Raphaële Bouniol, an associate from French law firm Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier. The group's practice spans general corporate and mergers and acquisitions, project development, public law and dispute resolution matters in sectors such as oil and gas, conventional power, renewable energy, petrochemicals and telecommunications. Haroun is a dual-qualified French and Algerian lawyer and has particular experience in matters in France and North Africa. Haroun and the group regularly advise clients on their operations in North Africa. Trosset, a former HSF partner, is a French-qualified corporate law expert with over 40 years' experience. He set up HSF's French practice and used to head its corporate practice and has broad-based M&A and transactions expertise, including corporate restructuring, tax, insurance regulatory and employment. Lazar, a graduate of the French Ecole Nationale d'Administration and of the University of Bucharest (Romania), is a French-qualified lawyer and an authority on energy projects and public law. Djeraba has considerable experience on North African oil and gas matters, especially in the upstream oil and gas sector. She recently completed a six-month secondment at OMV's Vienna headquarters. Nora is fluent in Arabic. Morvan focuses on mergers, acquisitions, corporate and commercial work for international clients, including transactions and projects in Africa. She also works with Haroun and Trosset in France and elsewhere on corporate and regulatory matters for British American Tobacco Group companies. Bouniol has an administrative law background coupled with a French business school diploma (ESSEC), which contribute to her focus on administrative law and regulatory issues (including competition) as well as commercial aspects of transactions.

Fortis Energy Services names Thomas VP

Oil and gas well service company Fortis Energy Services Inc. has named Royce Thomas as vice president of operations of the Northeast Region. His role will be to oversee all operations in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Headquartered in Michigan, Fortis Energy Services offers services throughout the Midwest and Northeastern states including: Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, New York, Indiana, and Illinois.

Black & Veatch names Murphy to lead construction, procurement division

John E. Murphy has been selected to lead Black & Veatch's global construction and procurement operations. In 2012, the division contributed more than $880 million of the company's total revenue. The division has expanded from a focus on power and power delivery projects to work in energy, oil and gas, renewable, water and telecom services. With more than 27 years of experience, Murphy brings expertise in project management, procurement, operations, construction and electrical design to the role. His career began as a design engineer and progressed through to project management. He also has worked in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and the former Black & Veatch Special Projects Group, now the company's Federal Services Division. Murphy will work with current division president Hal Smith in a transitional role through the end of the year. Smith, who has been with Black & Veatch for 45 years, will retire at the end of 2013.