Energy Players

Aurora Oil & Gas Corp.’s board has named Ronald E. Huff president. Huff will continue in his current position as CFO. William W. Deneau will continue in his position as chairman of the board of directors and as CEO and will concentrate on the strategic direction of the company. Huff has been the company’s CFO since June 2006 and has been a member of its board since October 2005. He has over 25 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry.

The board of directors has also named John C. Hunter as vice president of exploration and production. Hunter is a petroleum engineer with over 30 years of oil and gas experience, and worked for AOG since 2005. Additionally, Thomas W. Tucker has retired from the company and will work with Hunter on transitional matters until his retirement. Aurora Oil & Gas is an independent energy company focused on unconventional natural gas exploration, acquisition, development, and production with its main operations in the Michigan Antrim Shale and New Albany Shale of Indiana and Kentucky.

ExxonMobil senior VP McGill retires after 38 years

Dr. Stuart R. McGill, senior vice president of Exxon Mobil Corp., has retired after more than 38 years of service. Since October 2004, McGill has been responsible for ExxonMobil’s upstream operations, which include exploration, development, production, gas and power marketing, and upstream research. McGill holds a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate from Sydney University.

RBG names Slattery to new COO role

RBG Ltd. has appointed Tadg Slattery as COO. In this newly created role, Slattery reports to RBG’s CEO Doug Sedge and has responsibility for managing the needs and deliverables of all operations activities. Slattery spent 30 years in a series of management roles in the oil and gas industry. He spent the last two years as KBR’s senior vice-president of business in Algeria. RBG Ltd. is a life-of-field services contractor focused on the provision of asset integrity support, integrated maintenance, modification, engineering support, and resource services to the international oil, gas, and petrochemicals industry. Headquartered in Aberdeen, UK, it operates in the UK and internationally.

McDonnell assumes CEO role at CanArgo Energy

In addition to the listing and IPO of its associate company Tethys Petroleum Ltd. on the Toronto Stock Exchange, CanArgo Energy Corp. has added Vincent McDonnell to the position of CEO. This is in addition to his existing roles as president, COO, and chief commercial officer. David Robson is stepping down from the position of CEO, but will remain as chairman. Robson is chairman, president, and CEO of Tethys. These changes were deemed necessary by the company to ensure separation between the two companies. McDonnell holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and an MBA. He has worked for the corporation since 2000. Prior to joining CanArgo, McDonnell worked in various business, commercial, and technical roles with JKX Oil & Gas plc, Mobil Oil, and Britoil plc. CanArgo is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company with its principal oil and gas operations currently located in Georgia.

Aztec names Fisher CEO

Aztec Oil & Gas Inc. has elected Franklin C. Fisher Jr. as its new CEO. Fisher has also been elected to chairman of the board. Fisher has served in an advisory role with Aztec Oil & Gas since its inception. Since 1983, he has concentrated on managing his own investments and companies in which he owns interests, primarily focusing on the oil and gas sector. He received his bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and his juris doctorate degree from the University of Texas. Aztec is an oil and gas exploration and production company focusing on numerous areas of the US.

ONEOK elects Edwards, Mogg to board of directors

The board of directors of ONEOK Inc. elected Julie H. Edwards and Jim W. Mogg to the board. Edwards rejoins the ONEOK board. She was originally elected in January 2004 and resigned on July 1, 2005, when she joined Southern Union Co. as senior vice president and CFO. She became senior vice president, corporate development, in November 2006, and held that position until leaving Southern Union in January 2007.

Mogg is the retired chairman of DCP Midstream Partners. From 2004-2006, he was group vice president and chief development officer for Duke Energy Corp. Edwards earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a master’s degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mogg received a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He also completed the advanced management program at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business. ONEOK Inc. is a diversified energy company.

Carroll joins BP board as non-executive director

The board of BP plc has appointed Cynthia Carroll as a non-executive director. Carroll is the chief executive of Anglo American plc, the mining and natural resources group. She previously worked for Alcan Inc., latterly as the president and chief executive of Alcan’s primary metal group.

Bush joins Tri-Valley as exploration VP

Tri-Valley Corp. has appointed James G. Bush as vice president, exploration of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tri-Valley Oil & Gas Co. He will report to Joseph R. Kandle, president of TVOG. Bush has experience in exploration projects for Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO) and consulting heavy industry and natural resource businesses. He spent 29 years in positions with mineral, oil, and gas and consulting firms. Most recently, he managed the natural resources division business and technology development at the division level of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory at Richland, Wash. A graduate of Ohio State University with a BS, Bush holds an MS degree from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

O’Rourke to lead global exploration for BHP Billiton

BHP Billiton Petroleum has appointed Stephen O’Rourke the president exploration for its global petroleum business. He will be based in Houston and will direct the company’s worldwide oil and gas exploration activities. O’Rourke will serve on the petroleum business’s executive leadership team and direct a team conducting exploration and appraisal activities across 6 continents. O’Rourke was previously vice president of development planning for BHP Billiton Petroleum. Prior to joining the company, O’Rourke worked for Shell Oil Co. in New Orleans, Brunei Darussalam, and The Netherlands. He is a graduate of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and the Wharton School’s Advanced Management Training Program at the University of Pennsylvania. BHP Billiton is a diversified resources company.

TAQA Energy appoints managing director

The Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. PJSC intends to expand into Europe’s growing energy sector through its European subsidiary TAQA Energy BV. TAQA has appointed a new managing director, Paul van Gelder, to head its Netherlands exploration and production unit, TAQA Energy BV. van Gelder, the first Dutch national to assume the post in more than 40 years, will be based in The Hague, Netherlands. van Gelder most recently served as project director of the Bergermeer Gas Storage project. Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA) is a global energy company with investment capabilities in power generation, CHP, desalination, renewables, upstream oil/gas, pipelines, services, structured finance and the creation, syndication and management of assets.

Gordon resigns as VP engineering, operations at GEOCAN Energy

Scott Gordon has resigned his position as vice president engineering and operations at GEOCAN Energy Inc. GEOCAN is a Canadian oil and natural gas exploration and production company.

Oil and gas attorney joins Burleson Cooke

Paul Yale joined Burleson Cooke and will concentrate his practice on general business law in the oil and gas industry. He has nearly 30 years of corporate and legal experience in the energy sector. Prior to joining the firm, Yale worked for ExxonMobil and its predecessor companies. He served as manager of land for ExxonMobil. During his tenure at ExxonMobil, Yale was also an international agreements coordinator, natural gas commercial negotiator, trades and unitization supervisor, and Alaska land advisor.He earned his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and his JD from Southern Methodist University Law School.

Drennen to lead global exploration, new ventures at Hess

New York-based Hess Corp. has appointed Bill Drennen as senior vice president, global exploration and new ventures. Drennen, who will be based in Houston, was previously vice president, Americas, ExxonMobil Exploration Co., with responsibilities for all exploration activities in the US, Canada, Mexico, and South America. Drennen will replace Bob Strode, who has elected to retire. Hess Corp. is a global integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, production, purchase, transportation, and sale of crude oil and natural gas, as well as the production and sale of refined petroleum products.

Wolfgang Rupf tapped Transmeridian director

Transmeridian Exploration Inc. has appointed Wolfgang Rupf to fill the vacancy on the board created by the retirement of Fernando J. Zuniga y Rivero. Rupf will serve on the nominating and governance committee. Since 2001, Rupf has been CEO of AKV Altkonig (Verwaltungs) GmbH, a private company engaged in the manufacture of components for the automotive and defense industries and in the machine and hydraulic plant engineering industries. He holds a doctorate in jurisprudence from the University of Tubingen in Germany. Transmeridian Exploration Inc. is an independent energy company established to acquire and develop oil reserves in the Caspian Sea region of the former Soviet Union.

STATS UK names Allan finance director

Aberdeen-based STATS UK Ltd. has appointed Garry Allan to the newly created post of finance director. The Aberdeen University graduate has held a number of similar posts and prior to joining STATS in December 2005, was finance director for Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping, Abbot Group subsidiary OIS, and Nabors Drilling. STATS UK Ltd. designs, manufactures, and installs process and pipeline integrity solutions for the oil and gas industry.

Panagos joins Transocean as VP, investor relations

Gregory S. Panagos has been named vice president of investor relations and communications at Transocean Inc. He joins the team with 16 years of experience. He was previously a director of investor relations and planning at Noble Energy. Prior to that, he was managing director of Shimmerlik Corporate Communications. He also served in roles at Pennzoil Co. and Pennzoil-Quaker State Co. He earned an MBA from Rice University and a bachelor’s degree from Claremont McKenna College. He replaces John H. Briscoe, who has been named vice president, audit and advisory services. Transocean is the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor.

BPZ Energy appoints Ed Caminos CFP

BPZ Energy Inc. has promoted Edward G. Caminos to CFO. Caminos joined the company as corporate controller in January 2005 and most recently, served as vice president - finance and CAO. He has 23 years of diversified experience in senior accounting and finance positions, primarily with international energy companies. Prior to joining BPZ, Caminos held positions at Duke Energy and Reliant Energy. He also served as controller for Latin American operations of a major unit of Schlumberger and as country controller in Venezuela for M-I Drilling Fluids. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. Houston-based BPZ Energy Inc. is an oil and gas exploration and production company which has exclusive rights and license agreements for oil and gas exploration and production covering nearly 2.4 million acres in 4 properties in northwest Peru.

Rosetta Resources appoints Low to board committees

Rosetta Resources Inc.’s board of directors elected Josiah O. Low III to the audit committee, the compensation committee, and the nominating and corporate governance committee of the board. Low was appointed to Rosetta’s board in December. Low was formerly a senior advisor at Credit Suisse First Boston. Preceding this position, he was a founding managing director of Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Group. Rosetta Resources Inc. is an independent oil and gas company engaged in acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil and gas properties in North America.

Brown, Wallace join Delta Petroleum board

Denver-based Delta Petroleum Corp., an independent energy exploration and development company, has added Hank Brown and John Wallace the company’s board of directors. Brown was named president of the University of Colorado in June 2005. He also served Colorado in the US Senate (elected in 1990) and 5 consecutive terms in the US House representing Colorado’s 4th Congressional District (1980-1988). He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado, and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Colorado Law School. He also earned a master of law degree from George Washington University. Wallace is currently serving as the president and COO of Delta and has been an executive officer of the company since 2003.

Storm Cat makes management changes

Storm Cat Energy Corp. is making senior management changes. Joseph M. Brooker, who has been working with the company as an independent consultant since early 2007, has been named CEO. Brooker has also been added to the board of directors. Keith Knapstad, who has been serving as acting president and CEO since March 9, 2007, has been appointed president and COO. Knapstad will continue to have oversight and control of the company’s US and Canadian operations. Brooker is a petroleum engineer with nearly 20 years of experience in the oil and gas business. He was most recently vice president and general counsel of Medicine Bow Energy Corp., a Denver-based private-equity-backed exploration and production company. Medicine Bow sold to El Paso Corp. in 2005 for $834 million. Brooker received a BS from Marietta College and a JD from the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Storm Cat Energy is an independent oil and gas company focused on the pursuit, exploration, and development of large unconventional gas reserves from fractured shales, coal beds, and tight sand formations.

South Texas Oil adds to its executive team

South Texas Oil Co. has added two industry veterans to its executive team. The company has appointed J. Scott Zimmerman president and Bill Zeltwanger vice-president. Since 2004, Zimmerman served as president and chief executive of Storm Cat Energy, a publicly-traded company that he founded. In 2002 he was vice-president of operations and engineering for Evergreen Resources. In 2004 Evergreen was acquired by Pioneer Resources for $2.1 billion. Zimmerman’s oil and gas industry experience also includes a 20-year tenure at Huber Corp. Zeltwanger for the past 6 years has been a partner in Giddings, Tex.-based Leexus Oil & Gas LLP, which recently sold its assets to South Texas Oil for $26 million.

Henson joins Netherland Sewell as senior VP

Netherland, Sewell & Associates has hired J. Carter Henson Jr. as senior vice president, based in Houston. Before originally joining NSAI in 1989, Carter held engineering, supervisory, and management positions at Exxon Co. Carter rejoined NSAI in 2007 after spending 2 years as managing director of a private drilling capital fund. He is experienced in all the major producing basins of the US and selected areas of Africa and Mexico. His work includes integrated field and regional studies, reserve committee advisories, field development plans, due diligence reviews, and property evaluations for sales, acquisitions, and reporting to the SEC.

Devon re-elects board members; president Richels joins board

Devon Energy Corp. has elected three members to its board of directors. Thomas F. Ferguson, a director since 1982, and David M. Gavrin, a director since 1979, were re-elected. John Richels, Devon’s president, was elected to replace Peter J. Fluor who chose not to stand for re-election. Devon Energy is an Oklahoma City-based independent energy company engaged in oil and gas exploration and production.