Energy Players

BPI Energy, an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, and commercial sale of coalbed methane (CBM) in the Illinois basin, has hired James E. (Jim) Craddock as its senior vice president of operations. In this new position, Craddock will oversee all operations, engineering, geology, and land management activities. In particular, he will be integrally involved in planning and managing all aspects of the company’s CBM exploration, drilling, and production activities. Craddock, 47, joins BPI from Houston-based Burlington Resources Inc. where he served as chief engineer. He began his career in 1981 with Superior Oil upon graduating from Texas A&M University with a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering.

Executive appointment at Teton for Schultz

Denver-based Teton has named Andrew M. Schultz the company’s new vice president of production. In addition, Patrick A. Quinn, the company’s contract CFO, has resigned in order to devote more time to his firm, Quinn & Associates PC. Teton Energy Corp. is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the Rocky Mountain region of the US.

Richards Oil & Gas appoints Bate as CFO

Calgary, Alberta-based Richards Oil & Gas Ltd. has appointed Lonn Bate as its new CFO. He was director of finance, risk management, and treasurer of Viking Energy Royalty Trust since 2004. Previously he held positions with Shell Canada Ltd., Suncor Energy Inc., TransCanada PipeLines, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Richards Oil & Gas is an oil and gas exploration company that specializes in the exploration, development, and exploitation of coalbed methane properties.

Houston Exploration hires Campbell as senior VP and general counsel

Carolyn M. Campbell has been named senior vice president and general counsel for the Houston Exploration Co. She will oversee all aspects of the company’s corporate legal matters, having a broad spectrum of experience related to mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, securities, and corporate board-related matters. Most recently Campbell was senior vice president, group general counsel, and secretary at Hynegy Inc. Before that she was employed at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and King & Spalding. She graduated from Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s in accounting and a law degree. The Houston Exploration Co. is an independent natural gas and crude oil producer engaged in the development, exploitation, exploration, and acquisition of natural gas and crude oil properties.

Steinke resigns from Storm Cat

Craig Steinke has resigned his position as chairman of the board and from the board of directors at Storm Cat Energy Corp. To facilitate the transition the company has retained Steinke until the end of 2006 under a personal services consulting arrangement. Michael Wozniak has agreed to serve as lead director in the effort to find a replacement. 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.

Lori Warner joins Adams and Reese

Adams and Reese has added Lori J. Warner to its Houston office as a partner with the energy and environmental team. Warner, who concentrates her practice exclusively in environmental law, routinely counsels clients on regulatory compliance, contaminated site remediation, wastewater and storm water management, environmental liability, and release reporting. She also assists clients in negotiations with state and federal agencies. Warner received her juris doctorate from the South Texas College of Law in 1993. She earned a master of law in environmental law from the University of Houston Law Center in 1996. Before graduating from law school, she worked for ten years as a geoscientist in oil and gas exploration and production. Adams and Reese is a multidisciplinary law firm with offices in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Houston, Jackson, Mobil, Nashville, and Washington.

Thorington retires as CFO of Plains Exploration

Stephen A. Thorington, executive vice president and CFO, has retired from Plains Exploration & Production Co. He began at Plains in late 2002 as the CFO of both Plains Exploration & Production Co. and its then corporate parent, Plains Resources Inc. He continued in the dual roles until PLX was acquired by Vulcan Energy in June, 2004. PXP is an independent oil and gas company primarily engaged in upstream activities.

Fraser tapped as CFO of Husky Energy

Calgary, Alberta-based Husky Energy has added Doug Fraser as vice president and CFO of Husky Oil Operations Ltd. Prior to his appointment, Fraser held positions with other Canadian integrated companies in senior financial positions, most recently with Petro-Canada. Husky Energy is an integrated energy and energy-related company.

Promotions made at Kinder Morgan

Kinder Morgan Inc. and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP have made promotions. Steve Kean has been named executive vice president and COO. He was previously executive vice president of operations. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and a law degree from the University of Iowa. He has 20 years of experience in the energy industry. Garner Dotson has been named vice president of internal audit. He joined Kinder Morgan with 15 years of finance experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Houston and an MBA from the Cameron School of Business at St. Thomas University. Larry Pierce has been named vice president of corporate communications. He has been with Kinder Morgan since 1998 and has more than 20 years of corporate and agency public relations and public affairs experience. He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado.

Long joins PFC Energy’s Houston office as director

PFC Energy has appointed Steve Long as director in the company’s upstream practice. Long brings 30 years of international energy experience having worked for major energy corporations in the US, Europe, West Africa, and South America. Before joining PFC, Long was vice president of business development for Unocal, and before that, held positions at Enron. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in Houston, Paris, and London, PFC Energy is a strategic advisory firm in global energy with clients worldwide.

Executive changes for Linn Energy

Thomas A. Lopus has been named senior vice president of operations at Linn Operating Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Linn Energy LLC. Lopus’ career in the industry spans 25 years and includes senior management positions at Equitable Resources Inc. and FINA. He will oversee all company drilling and production, engineering, land and geology operations, and report to Michael Linn, president and CEO. Lopus received a bachelor of science degree from The Pennsylvania State University in petroleum and natural gas engineering.

In related news, Curtis L. Tipton had been named vice president of gathering and marketing of Penn West Pipeline LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Linn Energy. Lastly, Gerald W. Merriam had resigned his position as executive vice president of engineering operations at Linn Energy to pursue other opportunities.

Smith International appoints McKenzie president and CEO of M-I SWACO

Smith International Inc. has named Don McKenzie as president and CEO of M-I SWACO. McKenzie replaces Loren Carroll, who has served as the president and CEO of M-I SWACO since 1994, and was executive vice president and CFO of Smith International Inc. prior to joining M-I SWACO. Carroll has served as a member of Smith’s board of directors for 18 years and will continue in that capacity. Carroll will also remain employed with Smith in an advisory capacity for the next two years.

McKenzie joined Smith International Inc. in 1989 and, prior to his transfer to M-I SWACO, was the vice president of Europe and Africa operations. In April 1994, he joined M-I SWACO as the senior vice president of eastern hemisphere operations. Early this year, he was appointed COO of M-I SWACO. He studied marketing administration at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Alberta, Canada.

Vann and Crain named to boards at Crosstex

Crosstex Energy LP and Crosstex Energy Inc. have added Kyle D. Vann to the board of directors of Crosstex Energy GP LLC, and James C. Crain will join the board of directors of the corporation. Both men will replace C. Roland Haden, who has resigned from his board positions with Crosstex Energy GP LLC and the corporation. Crain currently serves on the board of directors of Crosstex Energy GP LLC.

Vann began his career with Exxon Corp. then moved on to Koch Industries. In 2001, he then took on the role of CEO with Entergy-Koch LP, an energy trading and transportation company. Currently, he consults with Entergy and Texon LP. Vann graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering.

Since 1989, Crain has served as president of Marsh Operating Co., an investments management company focusing on energy investing, and since 1997 as general partner of Valmora Partners LP, a private investment partnership. Prior to Marsh, he served as a partner at Jenkens & Gilchrist. Crain graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor of business administration degree, a master’s in professional accounting, and a doctorate of jurisprudence.

Veneco promotes Morrato, adds Janik from TexCal

Veneco Inc. has promoted Kevin Morrato to vice president of Sacramento basin operations. Morrato has been general manager of the basin where 21 wells were drilled in 2005 and more than 42 wells were reworked or recompleted. Morrato has 24 years of industry experience and a BS degree in geology from University of New Mexico. Second, Venoco has hired Jeff Janik as senior vice president of Texas operations. Janik comes from TexCal Energy, where he served as vice president-COO for the past three years. He has been in the oil industry for 31 years and has a degree in ocean engineering from Texas A&M University.

Noble adds Ahlstrom to management team

Noble Corp. has hired Lee M. Ahlstrom as vice president of investor relations and planning of Noble Drilling Services. Ahlstrom holds a master of mechanical engineering degree and a bachelor of mechanical engineering degree fro the University of Delaware. He has 15 years of energy industry experience and most recently served as director of investor relations at Burlington Resources. He also served in management positions at UNOCAL and McKinsey & Co. and engineering positions with Exxon.

Mark Johnson to lead Atmos’ nonutility operations

Atmos Energy Corp. has elevated Mark H. Johnson, formerly vice president, nonutility operations of Atmos Energy, to the post of senior vice president, nonutility operations. He will also serve as president of Atmos Energy Holdings Inc., the parent of Atmos’ nonutility operations and will continue serving as president of Atmos Energy Marketing LLC. Johnson succeeds JD Woodward, who announced his retirement. Woodward founded Woodward Marketing LLC in 1986. Atmos Energy acquired a 45% interest in Woodward Marketing in 1997 through a merger with United Cities Gas Co. and acquired the remaining interest in Woodward Marketing in April 2001. In October 2003, Woodward Marketing LLC was renamed Atmos Energy Marketing LLC. Johnson previously served as executive vice president of Atmos Energy Marketing, with responsibilities for its natural gas trading and marketing operations. He joined Atmos Energy Marketing’s predecessor, Woodward Marketing LLC, in 1992 as vice president of marketing and operations and was later promoted to senior vice president of marketing for the Midwest and Gulf Coast. He was named executive vice president of commercial operations in 2003. Johnson holds a BS degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Newpark appoints Paul Howes CEO

The board of directors of Newpark Resources Inc. has named Paul L. Howes as Newpark’s CEO and member of the board. Howes succeeds James D. Cole as CEO. Cole will devote his full energies to the development of the new water treatment technology as chairman and CEO of Newpark Environmental Water Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newpark. Howes is a 1980 graduate of Michigan State University where he majored in engineering. His career has included experience in the defense industry, chemicals, and plastics manufacturing, and the packaging industry. Most recently, he served as president and CEO of Astaris LLC, a primary chemicals company headquartered in St. Louis, with operations in North America, Europe, and South America. Newpark Resources provides drilling fluids, environmental and oilfield services to the exploration and production industry.

Roxar appoints regional manager for flow measurement division

Roxar has added Paul Khuri as the company’s new regional manager for the Americas for its flow measurement division. Khuri comes to Roxar with experience in project management and leadership development in both the oil and gas and military aerospace sectors. Prior to joining Roxar, he was senior project manager in the offshore systems division of Cooper Cameron Inc. Previous positions held include director of asset planning, regulated power operations at Reliant Energy Inc., and 13 years working for the US Air Force in aerospace engineering and project management. Paul has master of science degree in management from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University.

Heerema, INTEC name Crager CEO, Mellema CFO

Heerema Holding and the supervisory board of INTEC have named Bruce Crager CEO of Houston-based INTEC Engineering. Crager has more than 30 years of experience in the industry. He was president of ABB Offshore Systems Inc. and previously senior vice president of Oceaneering International Inc. For the last two years, Bruce has been an independent consultant for a number of operators and suppliers in the oil and gas industry. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in ocean engineering from Texas A&M University at College Station, and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Houston.

Marc Mellema was named CFO. He takes over for Marc Rieke who resigned to pursue another career opportunity. Mellema started his career in the Heerema Group in 1995. His last position with Heerema Marine Contractors was manager of taxation. He is an international tax lawyer with experience in multinational companies in the onshore and offshore industry.

INTEC is an engineering and project management company serving the international oil and gas industry. It is an operating company within Heerema Group.

Aiken to retire from BHP Billiton, Yeager steps in as group president

Phil Aiken (currently group president energy) will retire from BHP Billiton on December 31, 2006. BHP Billiton has appointed J. Michael Yeager to the position of group president energy. Prior to joining BHP Billiton Yeager was vice president, ExxonMobil Development Co. Before this, he was senior vice president for ExxonMobil affiliate Imperial Oil Ltd. Prior to the Exxon and Mobil merger, he held the position of president of US Exploration and Production for Mobil Corp. Yeager will become a member of BHP Billiton’s Office of the Chief Executive (OCE), and will be based in Houston.

Terax Energy makes board appointments

Terax Energy Inc. has appointed Stephen Cochennet and David Pratt to its board of directors. Cochennet is a 20-year energy executive with experience in finance, operations, and corporate development. Cochennet currently sits on several advisory boards and is president of CSC Group, which provides strategic consulting, investment banking, and broad executive services for Fortune 1,000 energy companies. Cochennet spent 16 years of his career with Aquila (formerly UtiliCorp United), most recently serving as president of the Strategic Partners Group.

David Pratt is a finance executive and certified public accountant with more than 25 years of experience. He most recently served as CFO for Benton Oil and Gas Co. (now Harvest Natural Resources Inc.). While there, he also served as vice president of international finance and as a financial consultant. Prior to that, Pratt held various finance positions with Cincom Systems, Lawson Associates, May Petroleum Inc., and Arthur Andersen & Co.

Tom Fulton to serve as InterMoor’s president

Acteon, which provides specialized engineered services for offshore oilfield development, has named Tom Fulton as president of its operating company, InterMoor. He replaces Chuck Minton who has stepped down for health reasons. Fulton joined the company in 1992 and previously was vice president of engineering and projects. He will now manage InterMoor’s operations in Amelia and Fourchon, La., from InterMoor’s corporate headquarters in Houston. Fulton has 19 years’ experience. He graduated with a BS degree in ocean engineering from Texas A&M University in 1987. InterMoor delivers integrated mooring systems worldwide for the offshore oil and gas industry.