Energy Players

Vittor, a 15-year legal veteran and native of Argentina, leads Bracewell’s Latin American business practice. His international legal work focuses on commercial and corporate transactions, privatizations, project development and finance in Latin America, the US, Europe, and Asia. He has served as legal advisor to numerous energy companies on regulatory and privatization aspects in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela, and Mexico.

Vittor has represented investor George Soros in his company’s investments in Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela; Mexican oil giant Pemex; Chile’s ENAP, and other international energy companies in the areas of LNG, renewable energy, and project development and finance.

Reliance Petroleum fills board positions

Jeet Bindra, president of Chevron Global Refining, has been elected to the board of Reliance Petroleum Ltd. David C. Reeves, president of Chevron Global Supply and Trading, has been named an alternate representative to the RPL board. Chevron will acquire a 5 percent stake in RPL to own and operate a new 580,000 bp/d export refinery in Jamnagar, India. With this investment came the right for Chevron to nominate a director to the RPL board. Bindra has held a variety of management positions since joining the company in 1977. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology and a master’s degree from the University of Washington, as well as an MBA from Saint Mary’s College of Moraga.

Hewitt named chief accountant of SEC; Kathleen Casey sworn in

Chairman Christopher Cox announced today that Conrad Hewitt, former chief financial regulator for the State of California, has joined the Securities and Exchange Commission as its next chief accountant. Hewitt currently is chairman of the audit committee of Varian Inc. He also chairs the audit committee of North Bay Bancorp, and chairs both the compensation committees and the audit committees of S&P Co. and Pabst Brewing Co. From 1995 to 1998, he was California superintendent of banking and commissioner of the California department of financial institutions. In his new position he will oversee accounting interpretations, international accounting matters, and professional practice issues. He earned a BS degree at the University of Illinois, performed graduate work at the University of Southern California, and participated in executive programs at Stanford and Northwestern University.

Kathleen L. Casey was sworn in as 88th SEC Commissioner by chairman Christopher Cox. Commissioner Casey was appointed by President George W. Bush to be a commissioner on May 18, 2006. Prior to her appointment, she spent 13 years on Capitol Hill. She served as staff director and counsel of the Senate banking, housing, and urban affairs committee. From 1996-2003, she served as legislative director and Chief of Staff, respectively, for Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). She received her BA from Pennsylvania State University.

Browne set to retire from BP

Lord Browne, BP’s chief executive, made it known at a July second-quarter results presentation that he plans to retire from the company at the end of 2008 when he turns 60. He holds degrees from Cambridge and Stanford University. He took over as chief executive in 1995. It is speculated he will receive a “succession bonus” as part of overall share awards that can add up to 7.5 times his basic salary. A BP spokesman said Browne will not choose his successor, but can make recommendations to the board. Succession planning is already in place. Two internal candidates, John Manzoni - who runs BP’s downstream refining and marketing operations, and Tony Hayward - head of exploration and production, as well as a few that have been appointed to the board, are under consideration for the job.

Bill Barrett names Jaggers new COO

Bill Barrett Corp. has hired Joe Jaggers as COO and president. Jaggers has 25 years of experience managing oil and gas operations. He was recently regional vice president, exploration and production, for Williams Cos. Previously he served as COO and president at Barrett Resources Corp. from 2000 until its sale to Williams in 2001. From 1981 through 2000, Jaggers worked for Amoco and BP Plc.

Madagascar Oil adds former Chevron president as joint CEO

Madagascar Oil Ltd. has appointed Alex Archila as joint CEO. The roles and responsibilities of CEO will be held jointly with current CEO and company founder Sam Malin during an interim period. Archila joins MOL from Chevron Ltd. where he served as president during the past four years. During that period, he was also a member of Chevron Corp.’s management committee. In prior roles, Archila was president of ChevronTexaco Colombia and was director of Texaco’s Houston-based international acquisitions and divestitures group.

Max Petroleum appoints Michael Young as CFO

Max Petroleum PLC has appointed Michael B. Young as CFO. Young will join from Whittier Energy Corp., where he has been the CFO and principal accounting officer since September 2003. From 1998 to 2002 Young worked for Chaparral Resources Inc. in the role of vice president and CFO. From 1991 until 1998, Young worked in a number of capacities at Arthur Andersen LLP. Young joins as an officer of the company, which is not a board-level position, and will be based in the London office.

Equator taps Auld CFO

Equator Exploration Ltd. has appointed Jeffrey David Auld as CFO and added him to the board. He has 16 years of emerging market oil and gas experience, most recently as vice president and treasurer of PetroKazahkstan Inc. Before that he was employed by Goldman Sachs as an advisor on strategic and financial opportunities. He holds an MBA from Imperial College, University of London, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Calgary.

Triangle, Elmworth hire Wagner as COO

Troy Wagner has been hired as the COO and vice president-engineering of Elmworth Energy Corp. and Triangle USA Petroleum Corp., both subsidiaries of Triangle Petroleum Corp. Wagner has spent the past 10 years at a publicly traded oil and gas company where he was vice president-operations of two companies. A registered professional engineer, Wagner earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Calgary and an MBA from Queens University. Triangle is an exploration company focused primarily on the Barnett shale project in Texas as well as on large resource plays in the Deep basin area of western Canada and in select areas of the western United States.

Premier Oilfield Rentals chooses Russell Crofts

Russell Crofts has been named managing director for Premier Oilfield Rentals, a Superior Energy Services company. Crofts has been with Premier Oilfield Rentals, headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, for the past 25 years, most recently as director of corporate services. He will be responsible for developing business in the Eastern Hemisphere with emphasis on emerging markets in West Africa, Middle East, Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Far East.

Fortis expands global export and project finance group in NY

Fortis, an international financial services provider engaged in banking and insurance, has expanded its global export and project finance group in New York with the addition of Bill Harrison and Adam Tomza as vice presidents.

Prior to joining Fortis, Harrison was senior project officer, project and structured finance division, at the Export-Import Bank of the United States (US Eximbank). Prior to joining US Eximbank, he worked at Chase Manhattan Bank. He holds a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Georgetown University.

Tomza joins Fortis from Nord/LB in New York, where he served as an assistant vice president. His experience includes financial analysis, financial modeling, and contract analysis for a variety of PPP, oil and gas and power transactions. Before that, Tomza was an associate in Taylor-DeJongh’s project finance advisory business. He graduated from The George Washington University and holds MBA, MA, and BBA degrees.

Neeley new VP acquisitions for Yuma Companies

Kevin Neeley has joined The Yuma Companies Inc. as vice president of acquisitions. He will be responsible for developing acquisition and exploitation opportunities for the company. Prior to joining Yuma, he was managing director at Wells Fargo Energy Advisors. He was previously director of the Banc One Capital Markets E&P Mergers and Acquisitions practice and business development manager at Unocal Corp. where he was principally responsible for domestic E&P acquisitions and divestitures. He has also worked for Shell, Amerada Hess, New York Gas & Oil, and Texas Oil and Gas. He received a BS from Oklahoma State University and his MBA from the University of St. Thomas.

CNX Gas promotes Albert, names Williams to board

CNX Gas Corp. has promoted Randall Albert to vice president - Northern Appalachia gas operations. He most recently held the position of general manager of CNX gas administration. In this role he will manage the team drilling for gas in southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. He graduated with a BS from Virginia Tech. In related news, the company has elected Joseph T. Williams to the board of directors. The election brings the number of members to 8. He is a retired industry executive who most recently served as chairman of DevX Energy Inc. He qualifies as an independent director.

CanArgo restructures management team

CanArgo Energy Corp. has restructured its management team related to the proposed spin-off of its Kazakhstan assets and to further focus on the Georgian appraisal and development projects. The changes are as follows:

Vincent McDonnell, currently executive director, COO, and CCO, has been promoted to the position of president in addition to his duties as COO and CCO. He will be responsible for day-to-day operations of the company.

Jeffrey Wilkins is CanArgo’s new CFO, replacing Richard Battey who will remain with the company for three months to assist with work related to the spin-off of the Kazakhstan assets. Wilkins has served as the company’s financial controller from April 2001 until his recent appointment. He earned his degree from the University of Bath.

Sabin Rossi, currently vice president external affairs, will also assume responsibility for investor relations as vice president external affairs and investor relations. Sabin is based in Boston, Mass. Julian Hammond, previously vice president investor relations, is now responsible for managing the spin-off of CanArgo’s Kazakhstan assets as executive vice president of Tethys Petroleum Investments Ltd.

Three new non-executive appointments to the board of directors of Tethys were named. The Rt. Hon Peter Lilley MP, Paul Murphy, and Russ Hammond. Lilley has held senior government positions in the UK including Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Secretary of State for Social Security, and has also been Shadow Chancellor, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party and an International Election Monitor in Kazakhstan. Murphy is currently COO of Kraken Financial Group in Guernsey having formerly been a Director of MeesPierson Reads. Hammond, currently a director of CanArgo, is an economist and was formerly managing director, Greenwell-Montagu Securities.

PYR Energy reports new management positions

Kenneth R. Berry has been appointed interim CEO and president of PYR Energy Corp. He joined the company in 1997 and has served as vice president of land since 1999. Prior to that position he served as the managing land consultant for Swift Energy Co. He earned a BA degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Jane M. Richards has been appointed CFO. She joined the company as controller in 2005 and was later appointed principal accounting officer. Before that the held positions at Tipperary Corp. and Williams Cos. Inc. She has a BS degree from the University of Denver.

Scott Singdahlsen, a founder of the company, has resigned these positions to focus on the company’s exploration and development programs. He also resigned as a director.

Noble Energy makes officer appointments

Noble Energy Inc. has appointed David L. Stover to the newly-created position of executive vice president and COO of the company. Most recently Stover held the position of senior vice president for North America. In his new position, Stover will be responsible for all of Noble’s exploration and production activities. Prior to joining Noble in 2002, he held senior management positions with BP and predecessor companies Vastar Resources and ARCO. Noble has also elected Rodney D. Cook and Ted D. Brown to serve as vice presidents of Noble Energy. Cook is responsible for Noble’s operations in the southern region of North America and is based in Houston, and Brown is responsible for the company’s operations in the northern region of North America and is based in Denver.

Additionally, Noble has increased its board to 10 members with the election of Mark A. Jackson. Jackson, Noble’s president and COO, joined the class of directors who will stand for re-election to a 3-year term in 2009. He will not serve as a member of the board’s audit, nominating and corporate governance, compensation, or finance committees.

Endeavour names Fisher VP of investor relations

Rusty Fisher has been named vice president of investor relations at Endeavour International Corp. Fisher has 16 years of experience in the investment industry. Among other positions, he served as vice president of equity sales for Credit Suisse First Boston in Houston. He holds a master of business administration and a bachelor of business administration from the University of Houston.

ChemCon retains De Joya as CFO

Chemical Consortium Holdings Inc. has appointed Arthur de Joya as CFO. De Joya has over 13 years of experience in both public and private accounting. His experience includes KPMG LLP. Currently, he is a partner and co-founder of De Joya Griffith & Co. LLC. He received his BS and from the University of Nevada. ChemCon is an alternative fuel manufacturing holding company, focusing on biodiesel, ethanol, methanol, natural gas to hydrogen, and natural gas to liquid natural gas.

Leveraged finance veteran joins Dahlman Rose & Co.

Jeffrey Silverman has been named managing director at Dahlman Rose & Co. LLC’s leveraged finance group. He has more than 15 years’ experience in leveraged finance, specifically in the distressed and bankruptcy business. He most recently served as vice president at DLJ and Credit Suisse.

ENSR adds expert to serve growing energy clientele

ENSR has added Steve Lawless as senior program manager for upstream oil and gas projects. ENSR serves petroleum companies through a variety of environmental, permitting, and compliance services. Lawless will be involved in account management, business development, and project coordination with clients primarily on exploration, development, and production activities. He will be based in Fort Collins, Colo. He has over 27 years of experience with ConocoPhillips. Lawless received his MS degree at the University of Colorado and his BS degree at Oregon State University. He is a graduate of the accelerated development program in management at the London Business School.

Comstock Resources names new general counsel and land VP

R. Gray Powers, vice president of land at Comstock Resources Inc., has resigned to pursue other interests. Comstock has hired D. Dale Gillette as the company’s new vice president of land who will also serve as general counsel for Comstock. Gillette has practiced law in the energy sector for 32 years, most recently as a partner in the Dallas office of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, and before that with the Dallas office of Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP. Gillette has also served as corporate counsel in the legal department of Amarillo-based Mesa Petroleum Co. and in the legal department of Dallas based Enserch Corp.

Regal Petroleum CEOand chairman resigns

Regal Petroleum’s chairman and CEO, Paul Morgan, has resigned after only three months on the job. The company states that Morgan has resigned “for personal reasons.”

Harris named development manager at Superior Energy

Superior Energy Services has promoted Paul Harris to international business development manager-marine division. Harris has been with the division for three years, most recently in overall business development. Before joining Superior, Harris worked for Danos & Curole and the Natco Group. Superior’s marine division provides self-elevating liftboats, cranes, lodging and accommodations to offshore drillers worldwide.

Nova elects energy leaders to board of directors

Nova Energy Holding Inc. has elected Robert Black, former senior vice president in the office of the chairman of Texaco Inc., Robert W. White, former president of Mobil Exploration and Producing US, and Jody Powers, former president of Halliburton Energy Services, to its board of directors.

Black graduated from Texas Tech University in 1958 with a bachelor’s degree. He began his career with Texaco and was later appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents, where he was later elected chairman, and will continue to serve until 2007.

White worked for Mobil for more than 30 years after service as a Captain in the US Army Corps of Engineers. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering.

Powers worked for Halliburton Energy Services for nearly 35 years. He began his career in the company’s wireline division. He was promoted to international vice president, and later he assumed the position of senior vice president of operations and marketing. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston.

Advantage makes executive appointment

The board of directors of Advantage Energy Income Fund has named David Cronkhite to the position of vice president, operations. Cronkhite has over 25 years’ experience in production engineering, drilling, facilities, environment, and loss management in the oil and gas industry. Before joining Advantage, Cronkhite held engineering positions with several oil and gas companies including Hudson’s Bay, Scepter, Stampeder, and Calpine.

Quicksilver adds Rupnow, Hinton to midstream unit, E&P marketing group

Quicksilver Resources Inc. has named Clifford C. Rupnow to the position of director of its midstream business unit and John E. Hinton as director of E&P marketing. Rupnow and Hinton will work in the company’s Fort Worth headquarters. Rupnow’s most recent position was director of market services and system planning for Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Co.

Hinton joins the company from Peoples Energy Production in Houston where he served as director of planning and financial reporting, and prior to that position, he served as director of marketing and planning.

Superior Well Services makes director appointment

Superior Well Services Inc. has appointed Edward J. DiPaolo as a member of the board of directors. DiPaolo has also been appointed to each of the compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committees. The number of directors was increased from six to seven. He is a partner with Growth Capital Partners LP. From 1976 to 2002, DiPaolo was with Halliburton, most recently as group senior vice president of global business development. He received an undergraduate degree from West Virginia University and serves on the advisory board of the West Virginia University College of Engineering.

Winegarner joins Brooks Range Petroleum

Jim Winegarner has been named vice president of land and external affairs on the Brooks Range Petroleum management team in Anchorage. Winegarner joins the company from ConocoPhillips. Brooks Range Petroleum is a subsidiary of the Alaska Venture Capital Group which currently owns 173,820 acres of oil and gas leases on the North Slope.

BP elects Castell to board as non-executive director

The board of BP announced today that Sir William Castell has been appointed as a non-executive director with immediate effect. Castell has served in healthcare as chief executive for 16 years at Amersham International, followed by his appointment as vice chairman to the board of GE and responsibility for GE’s global healthcare business. He stepped down from this post in April when he became chairman of the Wellcome Trust. He remains a non-executive director of GE. Castell joins both the audit committee and the ethics and environment assurance committee.

Hudson joins Transocean as corporate advisor

Dr. Ian Hudson has joined Transocean as corporate environmental advisor. Before joining the company, he headed the SERPENT project, a worldwide scientific collaboration with the energy industry. Transocean is a founding partner and contributor in the project. Hudson will continue to chair the SERPENT project advisory panel and serve on industry and scientific committees. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Newcastle University and a PhD from the University of Southampton.

Crosstex Energy appoints James C. Crain to board

Crosstex Energy Inc. has added James C. Crain to the board of directors. He currently serves on the board of directors of Crosstex Energy GP LLC. Crain will also serve on the audit committees of the corporation and Crosstex Energy GP LLC. Since 1989, Crain has served as president of Marsh Operating Co., and since 1997 as general partner of Valmora Partners LP. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA degree, a master’s degree in professional accounting, and a doctorate of jurisprudence.

Murphy elects Kelley as new director

The board of Murphy Oil Corp. has elected James V. Kelley to its board. Kelley is president and COO of BancorpSouth Inc. in Tupelo, Miss., and is a member of its board. Previously he was chairman, president, and CEO of First United Bancshares Inc. He received a BSBA degree from Ouachita Baptist University and has completed various financial schools and courses, including, the School of Bank Marketing, University of Colorado and the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking, Southern Methodist University. He currently serves as director for both Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield and USAble Corp.