Oil, gas marketing research pioneer Welling passes away
Joe Welling, 68, founder of one of the first marketing research firms in the oil and gas industry, died August 24 from complications related to congestive heart failure and diabetes. Welling was founder and president of Welling & Co. since 1971. He also served as adjunct professor and guest lecturer in the field of market research at a number of universities. Welling was born in Tulsa, Okla., on Aug. 4, 1940 and lived there until moving to Houston in 1990.
Endeavour mourns loss of board member Galt
Barry J. Galt, a member of the board of Endeavour International Corp., died on August 22, 2008. Galt served as a director of the corporation since 2004. “We deeply mourn the loss of a respected leader in the oil and gas industry who was a mentor and a friend to so many of us in the business. Our company was fortunate to have someone of his stature and experience as a part of our board of directors,” said William L. Transier, chairman and CEO. Galt was the retired chairman and CEO of Seagull Energy Corp., an exploration and production company that merged with Ocean Energy Inc. in 1999. He served on the board of the combined company until its acquisition by Devon Energy in April 2003. He was active in many charitable organizations including the Salvation Army and United Way, and served as a trustee for Memorial Hospital and St. John Medical Center in Tulsa. He received a bachelor’s degree and his law degree from the University of Oklahoma.
Marsh appoints Olsson to lead US energy practice
Marsh, a large insurance broker and risk advisor, has tapped Bertil Olsson to join the firm as energy leader of the US Energy, Mining & Power Practice. Based in Houston, Olsson will report to Jim Pierce, chairman of Marsh’s Global Energy Practice. Olsson holds over 20 years’ experience in the energy space and joins from Willis Global Energy where he was executive vice president and practice leader for its Houston Energy Practice. He is a graduate of the Royal Swedish Naval Academy and the University of Lund, Sweden.
ARKeX expands into Latin America
Cambridge, UK-based ARKeX, a provider of geophysical imaging technology, is expanding its reach into Latin America with the hiring of Guillermo García as business development manager. García joins ARKeX from Halliburton and has more than 10 years of operations management experience in the oil and gas industry and three years in scientific research on geological and geophysical interpretation and data analysis. García has a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees. He will be based in the company’s Houston office.
Blue Dolphin Energy names Dale CFO
Blue Dolphin Energy Co., an independent oil and gas company with operations in the Gulf of Mexico, has named William J. Dale as CFO. Dale brings more than 12 years of energy experience, having previously served as the assistant treasurer of Rosetta Resources Inc. Dale received a dual undergraduate degree and an MBA from the University of Houston.
Springett joins board of Tollow, replaces Hickey as CFO
Tullow Oil plc has appointed Ian Springett to the board of Tullow as CFO. He joins Tullow having worked with BP plc for 23 years. He most recently worked as the group vice president for planning. Springett replaces Tom Hickey, who gave notice of his resignation in April.
Aker Yards ASA names new COO
Aker Yards ASA has appointed Sang-Ho Shin as COO. Shin previously served as vice president of STX Shipbuilding in Korea, where he had been chief for the Jinhae shipyard. Sang-Ho Shin has held several senior management positions within the STX group since 1980. In Aker Yards, Shin will focus on production efficiency, procurement, logistics, knowledge transfer, technology, and innovation.
Stubblefield to succeed Furman as CFO at Bonanza Oil and Gas
Houston-based Bonanza Oil and Gas Inc., a Nevada corporation and an independent oil and gas company, has hired G. Wade Stubblefield as senior vice president and CFO. He replaces Ran Furman who is resigning to pursue other interests. Stubblefield has over 20 years of finance and accounting experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University.
Gilman begins tenure as DMT’s interim CEO
Deep Marine Technology Inc. has named Bruce C. Gilman as interim CEO. Gilman has over 40 years’ experience in the subsea sector including serving as president of both Perry Offshore & Oceaneering International Inc; president and founder of Sonat Subsea Services; president, CEO, and director of Sonsub Inc.; and chairman and president of Saipem Inc. He has served as chairman of the DMT board for the last several years. Gilman is a graduate of the Polytechnic University of Brooklyn in Aeronautical Engineering.
Lai promoted to CFO at Far East Energy
Smith International makes promotions
Smith International Inc., in conjunction with the offer for the shares of W-H Energy Services, has made the following management appointments. John Yearwood has joined as executive vice president of Smith International Inc. and president of Smith Completion and Production. He will continue as a member of Smith’s board. Prior to joining the Smith Board, he spent 26 years with Schlumberger Ltd. Yearwood received a bachelor’s degree from Oxford Brookes University. Bryan Dudman has been named executive vice president of Smith International Inc. and president of Smith Drilling and Evaluation. He has been with Smith for 29 years, most recently as president of Smith Services. He received his bachelor’s degrees from Texas A&M Kingsville. Margaret Dorman has been promoted to executive vice president, CFO, and treasurer of Smith International Inc. She has been with Smith for 13 years and has served as Smith’s CFO for the past nine years. Mike Pearce remains in charge of Smith Technologies and has been promoted to executive vice president of Smith International Inc. and president of Smith Technologies. He has been with Smith for 13 years. Smith International Inc. is a supplier of products and services to the oil and gas exploration and production industry.
Stein Giljarhus joins Sevan Drilling as CEO
Stein E. Giljarhus will assume the position as CEO of Sevan Drilling ASA on November 1. Giljarhus holds a bachelor’s degree and has more that 30 years’ experience in the offshore industry. Prior to joining Sevan, Giljarhus held senior management positions with Transocean, as vice president operations, and AGR (which he co-founded), as executive chairman and CEO, and latterly with Neptune Marine Oil & Gas, as CEO.
Christopher Taylor joins Southern Star as CFO
Southern Star Energy Inc. has hired Christopher H. Taylor as CFO. He joins Southern Star after working for the past two years as an assistant treasurer with Noble Drilling Services Inc., a subsidiary of Noble Corp. Prior to joining Noble, he spent more than 12 years managing project teams for the audit practices of Grant Thornton LLP and Arthur Andersen LLP.
