Energy Players

Apache Corp. has promoted Rebecca Hoyt to corporate vice president and controller. She replaces Thomas L. Mitchell, who became CFO of Noble Corp. Hoyt joined Apache in 1993 and has served in a number of positions of increasing responsibility in the accounting area, most recently as assistant corporate controller since 2003. Prior to joining Apache, Hoyt was audit manager with Arthur Andersen LLP. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Houston. In addition, the former executive director of the Council of Institutional Investors and CEO of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. is joining Apache as senior vice president of policy and governance. Sarah Teslik holds a bachelor’s degree from Whitman College, a master’s degree from Oxford University, and a juris doctorate from Georgetown University.

Allegro names Roltsch to lead global consulting services group

Allegro Development has added Scott K. Roltsch as vice president of its services group. Roltsch is a 30-year industry veteran who served as a partner at KPMG and a managing director at BearingPoint. He also served as a line of business manager of integrated systems at Shell Oil Co. He’s held senior management positions at Reichhold Chemicals and member firms of the Chicago Board Options Exchange. He holds a master’s degree from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.

Transocean makes management changes

Transocean has made several appointments within the company’s senior management team. Jean P. Cahuzac has been named president of Transocean Inc. He previously served as executive vice president and COO. He holds a degree from Ecole des Mines Saint Etienne and the French Petroleum Institute. Steven L. Newman has been named executive vice president and COO. He previously served as senior vice president of human resources and information process solutions. He holds a BS degree from the Colorado School of Mines and an MBA from Harvard University Graduate School of Business. David J. Mullen has been named senior vice president of marketing and planning. He previously served as vice president of the company’s North and South America Unit. He holds a degree from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and a master’s degree from the College of Galway, Ireland. Robert J. Saltiel has been named senior vice president of the company’s North and South America Unit. He previously held the position of senior vice president of marketing and planning. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

BP Alaska president to step down; Suttles to take over in Alaska

British oil company BP’s Steve Marshall will not continue as president of BP’s Alaska operation. He is set to assume the new title of vice president operations development and develop and lead a new organization called the BP Operations Academy. Doug Suttles will replace Marshall as president of BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. effective Jan. 1. Marshall served as BP’s Alaska president for five years. Prior to his role in Alaska Marshall was head of BP’s Scotland operations. He had previously worked in Alaska as a young engineer starting in 1978.

Noble Royalties names Albrecht president of acquisitions and divestitures

Noble Royalties Inc. has added William E. Albrecht to the company as president of acquisitions and divestitures. He will lead Noble’s acquisition efforts nationwide. Over the next year, Noble Royalties has budgeted more than $500 million for the acquisition of oil and gas royalties and overriding royalty interests. Since 1998, Albrecht served as vice president, acquisitions and engineering at EOG Resources Inc. From 1993-1998, he was vice president of acquisitions with Contour Energy Co. Before Contour, Albrecht held various acquisition and managerial assignments of increasing responsibility with Freeport-McMoran Inc., Pacific Enterprises Oil Co., and Hadson Energy Resources. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and a master’s degree from the University of Southern California.

BPZ promotes Caminos to VP and CAO, makes Gillard VP, treasurer

BPZ Energy Inc. announced the promotion of Ed Caminos to the position of vice president of finance and CAO and the hiring of Ed Gilliard as vice president of finance and treasurer. Caminos who formerly served as corporate controller and interim CFO, joined BPZ Energy in January 2005. He has over 20 years of experience in senior accounting and finance positions, primarily with international energy companies. Prior to joining the company, he held positions at Duke Energy and Reliant Energy. Caminos began his career with the international public accounting firm of KPMG and earned a BS from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. The company also named Edward Gilliard as vice president of finance and treasurer. He started his career with Amoco Production Co. as an operations and reservoir engineer. He worked in energy lending and project financing with Continental Illinois National Bank, Banque Indosuez, and Houston Industries Energy. In 1997, he joined Burlington Resources. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the University of Houston.

MarkWest Energy Partners makes officer elections

MarkWest Energy Partners LP has elected Nancy (Masten) Buese as CFO, John Mollenkopf as COO, and Randy Nickerson as CCO. Buese has been the company’s acting CFO, CAO, and has previous experience as the CFO for EAS Inc., vice president for TransMontaigne Inc., and as a partner with Ernst & Young LLP. Mollenkopf has been the company’s senior vice president, southwest business unit, since January 2004. He has been with MarkWest since 1996 and prior to that worked for ARCO Oil and Gas Co. Nickerson has been the company’s senior vice president, corporate development since October 2003. He has been with MarkWest since 1995 and prior to that worked for Chevron USA and Meridian Oil Inc.

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Wireless Holdings names Gillespie president and CEO

David Gillespie is now president and CEO of Wireless Holdings Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, H2Diesel Inc. The company recently acquired H2Deisel through a merger transaction. Prior to joining H2Deisel, Gillespie served as a vice president of business development and asset management of Duke Energy Corp. He received his MBA from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Hartford, Conn., and his BSME from the Worchester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Mass.

Mariner Energy taps Karnes as new CFO

John H. Karnes joined Mariner Energy as its senior vice president and CFO and treasurer. He replaces Rick G. Lester who departed from the company but continued on a consulting basis. Karnes was previously the senior vice president and CFO of The Houston Exploration Co. Before that he was vice president and general counsel for Encore Acquisition Co. He received his BBA degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his juris doctorate from Southern Methodist University School of Law.

Hercules Offshore makes management changes

Hercules Offshore Inc. has made key changes within the company’s senior management team. Don P. Rodney has been appointed president of Hercules International Holdings Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hercules Offshore Inc. He joined Hercules Drilling as vice president, finance, in July 2004. Rodney has 30 years of experience in financial management with inland and offshore drilling firms. He served as CFO for Hercules Offshore Drilling Co. from October 2003 to June 2004. Prior to joining Hercules Offshore, he was treasurer of The Offshore Drilling Co.

Stephen M. Butz has been appointed vice president and treasurer of Hercules Offshore, Inc. He joined Hercules in April 2005 as the company’s director of corporate development. Prior to joining Hercules, Butz served as a consultant to both Noble Corp. and Hercules. From 1996 to 2004, Butz was employed as an equity research analyst at various investment banks including Deutsche Bank and Jefferies & Co.

Thomas E. Hord, vice president, operations and COO of Hercules Drilling Co. LLC, has retired. Hord joined Hercules in August 2004 and was responsible for the drilling division’s daily operations, including rig refurbishment activities.

Director resigns at Avery Resources

Bradley Johnson has resigned from the board of directors of Avery Resources. He served the company for the past year. Avery Resources is an international hydrocarbon exploration and production company based in Calgary, Alberta.

Sanders appointed to Pacific Ethanol board

Pacific Ethanol Inc. has appointed Front Range Energy’s majority owner and co-founder, Daniel A. Sanders, to its board of directors. He replaces Frank Greinke who is stepping down. Sanders has two decades of senior management and operating experience.

Frigstad names director and CTO

Rig company Frigstad Discoverer Invest Ltd. has appointed QVT Group founder Dan Gold as its fifth director to the board. Parallel to this, Paal Norheim has been employed as CTO. Gold is a managing member and the CEO of the management company and acts as the chief risk manager for accounts managed by the management company, as well as the head trader of the convertible arbitrage and related portfolios managed by the management company. Gold received an AB from Harvard College. Norheim has served as managing director of Atlantis Deepwater Technology from 2001 until September 2006. He has more than 25 years of drilling related experience. He has a degree in petroleum engineering.

Smolik to head El Paso E&P

El Paso Corp. has named Brent J. Smolik president of El Paso Exploration & Production Co. He began his career as a drilling and reservoir engineer for ARCO. In 1990, he joined Burlington Resources Inc. as a reservoir engineer and acquisition coordinator. He then served as vice president, chief engineer, in Houston until relocating to Calgary in 2004, where he was appointed president of Burlington Resources Canada where he remained and became president of ConocoPhillips Canada following the merger. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University.

Key Energy makes two management appointments

Key Energy Services Inc., a rig-based well service company, has hired Don Weinheimer as senior vice president, business development, technology, and strategic planning. The company has also promoted D. Bryan Norwood to vice president and treasurer. Weinheimer joins from Halliburton where he served most recently as vice president, technology globalization within the company’s Energy Services Group. He has over 25 years’ experience and is a graduate of Texas A&M University. Norwood has 28 years’ experience and most recently served as eastern region controller for Key Energy. Before that he served as vice president, finance-Americas for Bredero Shaw Co. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

Talisman Energy appoints new CFO

Talisman Energy has appointed Phil Dolan, previously controller, as vice president, finance, and CFO of the company. After 25 years with Talisman Energy and its predecessor company, BP Canada, Mike McDonald has retired. Dolan joined Talisman in 1994, having started with Bow Valley in 1984 as coordinator and supervisor, accounting. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Calgary. Talisman Energy Inc. is an independent upstream oil and gas company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Solana’s E&P VP steps down

Menno Wiebe has resigned his position as vice president of exploration at Solana Petroleum Exploration Columbia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Solana Resources, to pursue other options. Glenn Van Doorne, the company’s newly appointed COO, will assume responsibility for the company’s exploration.

Swift Technical Group appoints three new directors

Swift Technical Group has appointed three additional directors. Collectively the new directors have over 20 years management experience within the Swift organization. Lisa Goddard has been appointed as the group operations director. She will be predominantly responsible for the effective management and delivery of all operational functions throughout the company. Christopher Lynch has been appointed as director - US operations. He will undertake the lead role in the management and development of US and Latin America business operations. James Allen has been appointed as group business development director. He will be responsible for maximizing and securing Swift’s international business development activities.

Otto Energy names CEO, CFO

Otto Energy Ltd. has appointed Alexander Parks as its CEO. The company also named Bruce Elsholz as its CFO. Parks has a master’s degree from Imperial College, London and has been practicing as a petroleum engineer for almost 10 years in the UK and Australia before joining Otto. He has held senior management positions for the last 5 years in Perth, Western Australia, including managing director of Troy-Ikoda Australasia and technical director for RPS Energy. Elsholz has a bachelor’s degree from the University of New South Wales. He has been involved in the oil industry as a financial controller and company secretary for almost 30 years, with companies based in Australia and in Canada. Otto listed 2 years ago and has built an exploration and near-production portfolio. The company is expected to become a producer of oil and gas in the Philippines and in Turkey, whilst expanding its significant exploration portfolio.

Evans elected president, CEO,director of Orion Ethanol

Orion Ethanol LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RTO Holdings Inc., has elected Gary Evans as president, CEO, and director. Evans is the chairman and CEO and founder of GreenHunter Energy Inc., a public renewable energy company specializing in wind, ethanol, and solar projects. During the prior 20 years until April 2005, Evans served as chairman, president, and CEO of Magnum Hunter Resources.

Cheetah appoints new CEO

Cheetah Oil & Gas Ltd. has appointed Ian McKinnon as chairman and CEO. He has over 30 years of experience primarily focused on the energy sector ranging from oil field trucking to energy exploration and production. He was a director and shareholder of Norscot Ltd., and has held senior executive positions in oil and gas exploration companies, oil well drilling and energy transportation companies. He replaces Garth Braun who has resigned to pursue other business interests.

Weatherford makes personnel changes

Lisa W. Rodriguez, senior vice president and CFO, is leaving Weatherford International Ltd. Andrew P. Becnel will become the company’s senior vice president and CFO and Jessica Abarca will become the company’s vice president - accounting and CAO. Abarca will report directly to Becnel. Becnel joined the company in June 2002. He served as associate general counsel and was elected VP of finance. Prior to joining Weatherford, Becnel was securities counsel of Koch Investment Group and senior associate attorney with the law firm of Andrews & Kurth LLP before that.

Abarca has over 13 years of professional accounting experience. She joined Weatherford in November 1996 and has served as vice president - finance of the company’s completion and production systems division since May 2003. Prior to joining the company, she was a senior auditor with Ernst & Young LLP.

Brock elected to board at Foothills Resources

Foothills Resources Inc. welcomed John A. Brock as a member of its board of directors. Until its recent sale, Brock served as chairman of Brighton Energy LLC. He is an advisory director of Ward Petroleum Inc. He is a founder and director of the Sarkeys Energy Center at the University of Oklahoma, a director of the Oklahoma Nature Conservancy and the Sutton Avian Research Center.

Sasol names Dijkgraaf non-executive director

Sasol Ltd. has appointed Hendrik George Dijkgraaf as a non-executive director. He retired as the CEO of Gasunie Trade and Supply BV and held various positions in the Royal Dutch Shell group between 1972 and 2003. He holds a degree from Delft University and is a member of the board of the Royal Tropical Institute and the Dutch Taskforce for Energy Transition.

Shell Canada names two new directors

Shell Canada Ltd. has appointed two new members to its board of directors, increasing the total number of directors to 12. Louise Frechette O.C. and David A. Galloway have joined the board as independent directors. Frechette most recently served as deputy secretary-general of the United Nations. Before that, she was deputy minister of the Canadian Federal Department of Defense. Galloway is presently chairman of the board of the Bank of Montreal and was president and CEO of Torstar from 1988 until his retirement.

Jeff Barndt named president of startup production company

R2R Technologies LLC, a startup production company, has appointed Jeff Barndt president. With more than 30 years of oil and gas experience, he has worked for Jefferies Randall & Dewey and Amoco. He established Amoco’s offices and served as the resident manager in Nigeria and Pakistan. Most recently, he served as manager of portfolio analysis and planning for Amoco’s global exploration business unit.

Mellema new CFO at INTEC Engineering

INTEC Engineering has made Marc Mellema the company’s CFO. Mellema brings expertise from his career as an international tax lawyer with four big accountancy firms in Europe and a specialty in multinational companies in the onshore and offshore oil and gas industry. His most recent position prior to INTEC was manager of taxation for Heerema Marine Contractors supporting their worldwide operations. Mellema’s finance background includes study at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) and multidisciplinary experience in various global management positions.

INTEC Engineering is an engineering and project management company serving the international oil and gas industry.

Sonoran Energy makes director appointment

Frank T. Smith has been elected to the board of directors at Sonoran Energy Inc. He joined Sonoran’s executive team as the company’s executive vice president and CEO in July 2006. He has over 30 years’ professional and commercial banking experience with the oil and gas industry. He recently worked for Remington Oil and Gas Corp. serving as senior vice president finance and the company’s CFO. Before Remington, Smith was executive vice president and manager of energy lending with the Bank of Texas. He earned BS and MEd degrees from the University of Delaware and an MBA from The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania.

HitecVision expands to UK, Hill to lead Aberdeen office

HitecVision Private Equity will open an office in the UK energy capital Aberdeen. HitecVision is currently investing the firm’s $300million fourth fund, which targets oil and gas investment opportunities in Europe and NorthAmerica. HitecVision has appointed a new partner to help drive its international growth. Mike Hill, formerly a director at 3i’s oil and gas team, will be based in Aberdeen and will recruit two more investment professionals to join him. During his nine years with 3i, Hill was involved in a number of high profile private equity deals in the oil and gas sector including Petrofac, SPS International, and Revus Energy.

Ramco names Moar finance director

Ramco Energy plc, the Aberdeen-based independent exploration company, has appointed Christopher Gilbert Moar to the board as finance director. Chris Moar, currently vice president, finance and company secretary, joined Ramco in 1993 and was appointed company secretary in December 1996. Prior to this he was a planning and financial accountant for Baker Oil Tools Ltd. Moar has an MA degree from Aberdeen University.

Equator Exploration appoints Cherwayko vice chairman

Equator Exploration Ltd. has appointed Wade Cherwayko as vice chairman of the company, such position being a non-board appointment, so as to maximize his special knowledge and experience of West Africa. Cherwayko will continue to act as CEO pending the appointment of a new CEO early in the new year. The board has also proposed that Jean-Luc Vermeulen be appointed as a non-executive director of the company at this year’s annual general meeting. Vermeulen began his career in the oil and gas industry with Elf Aquitaine in 1970. He held many positions there including president for exploration and production and was a member of the group executive committee. He continued to hold these positions at Total after the merger of TotalFina and Elf Aquitaine. He retired from Total in September of 2003. Vermeulen currently sits on the board and on the board audit committee of TNK-BP.

Otto Energy names CEO, CFO

Otto Energy Ltd. has appointed Alexander Parks as its CEO. The company also named Bruce Elsholz as its CFO. Parks has a master’s degree from Imperial College, London and has been practicing as a petroleum engineer for almost 10 years in the UK and Australia before joining Otto. He has held senior management positions for the last 5 years in Perth, Western Australia, including managing director of Troy-Ikoda Australasia and technical director for RPS Energy. Elsholz has a bachelor’s degree from the University of New South Wales. He has been involved in the oil industry as a financial controller and company secretary for almost 30 years, with companies based in Australia and in Canada. Otto listed 2 years ago and has built an exploration and near-production portfolio.

Superior Energy Services taps Bouillion as director

Superior Energy Services Inc.’s board of directors has appointed Harold J. Bouillion to serve as a director until the 2007 annual meeting of stockholders. From 1966 until 2002, Bouillion was with KPMG LLP where he served as managing partner of the New Orleans office from 1991 through 2002 and as tax partner-in-charge of the New Orleans office from 1977 through 1991. Since his retirement from KPMG in 2002, he has served as the managing director of Bouillion & Associates LLC. Bouillion earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and his MBA from Louisiana State University.