Energy Players

David E. Roberts, Jr., executive vice president and COO of Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), has resigned to pursue other interests. His resignation is effective Dec. 14, 2012. Roberts joined Marathon in 2006 as senior vice president of business development. Before joining Marathon, Roberts served as executive vice president/managing director for BG Group with responsibility for Asia and the Middle East. In 1999, Roberts was named director of strategic management for Texaco's worldwide upstream operations and served as advisor to the vice chairman of ChevronTexaco Corp. from 2001 to 2003 following the merger of Chevron and Texaco in October 2001. Roberts graduated from the University of Alabama in 1983 with a bachelor of science degree in mineral engineering.

Tudor to succeed Crownover as chair of Rice Board of Trustees

Rice University alumnus Bobby Tudor will replace Jim Crownover as the next chair of the Rice Board of Trustees. Tudor, chairman and CEO of energy investment and merchant bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., will take on the role following the expiration of Crownover's term on June 30. Tudor was elected to the board in 2006 and re-elected to a four-year term in 2010. He is co-chair of Rice's $1 billion Centennial Campaign. He has presided over the "R" Association's board of directors and on the Association of Rice Alumni Board of Directors and received the 2008 Distinguished Owl Club Award. Tudor graduated from Rice in 1982 with a BA in English and legal studies. While at Rice, he was a member and officer of Hanszen College and a student representative on the University Committee on Examinations and Standing. He won the Bob Quin Award his senior year for being the male athlete who most exemplified distinction in athletics, academics and leadership. Following graduation from Tulane Law School in 1987, Tudor began a nearly 20-year career at Goldman Sachs, where he was a partner and worked in the New York, London and Houston offices. He founded Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. in 2007. A 1965 Rice alumnus, Crownover became a Rice trustee in 1999 and is currently in his second term as board chair.

Expro appoints Renfroe as non-executive director

Oil and gas well flow management company Expro International Group Holdings Ltd. has appointed Jim Renfroe as a non-executive director. A graduate of Harvard's Advanced Management Program, Renfroe brings 39 years of oilfield services experience to the role, including a range of strategic management and executive leadership roles. Prior to joining Expro, Renfroe was a director of Wood Group plc, responsible for its Well Support division. He led the sale of Wood Group's Well Support division to GE in 2011 for $2.8 billion. Before joining Wood Group, Renfroe worked for Halliburton for 33 years, most recently as senior vice president, strategy.

Williams named COO of National Oilwell Varco

National Oilwell Varco Inc. has named Clay Williams president and COO of National Oilwell Varco. Williams has served as the company's executive vice president and CFO since March 2005. He served as Varco International Inc.'s vice president and CFO from January 2003 until its merger with the company in March 2005. Jeremy Thigpen will assume the role of senior vice president and CFO. Thigpen has served as the company's president – downhole pumping and solutions since 2007. Prior to that, Thigpen was the president of the company's downhole tools group from 2003 until 2007. He has been with National Oilwell Varco for 15 years.

Ernst & Young LLP adds to oil and gas supply chain practice

Ernst & Young has made two personnel appointments to further expand its Supply Chain Advisory Services practice in the oil and gas industry. Based in Dallas, Jade Rodysill joins the firm from Accenture as a principal in the practice and brings extensive experience in the chemicals, oil and gas, natural resources, transportation and utilities industries. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska and graduated from The Wharton School of Business with an MBA. Jim Franks brings more than 20 years of supply-chain experience to his role as principal in the firm's Dallas office. Prior to joining Ernst & Young LLP, he was a partner for Accenture's Supply Chain Strategy practice where he held leadership roles in both the upstream and pipelines/mid-stream North American supply chain operations. Franks earned his bachelor's degree from the United States Air Force Academy and received his MBA at Southern Methodist University.

Ball joins Luca Group as chief legal officer, general counsel

Aaron Ball joined Luca Group on January 1, 2013 as its Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel. Luca Group is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in more than ten fields in Texas and Louisiana. Luca Group has offices in Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Beijing. Ball previously served as of counsel in the corporate and finance practice in the Houston office of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. He received his bachelor's degree from Butler University, his JD from the American University Washington College of Law and his LLM (Tax) from DePaul University.

Farnsworth named CFO of Greene's Energy Group

Greene's Energy Group (GEG), a provider of integrated testing, rentals and specialty services, has named Brad Farnsworth as CFO. Based in Houston, Farnsworth will report to the CEO and assume a strategic role in overall company management. He will take on the daily role of planning, implementing, managing and controlling all financial-related activities of the company. This includes direct responsibility for accounting; finance; strategic planning; property management; deal analysis and negotiations; investor relationships and partnership compliance; and private and institutional financing. Prior to joining Greene's Energy Group, Farnsworth held notable positions as CFO at NATCO Group Inc.; chief administrative officer at Dynegy Inc.; and chief administrative officer at KN Energy Inc. Farnsworth graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and marketing and from the University of Colorado with a Master of Business Administration in financial management. He is a member in good standing of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) with a Certificate of Director Professionalism. Greene's Energy Group is a provider of integrated testing, rentals and specialty services for drilling, completions, production and pipeline operations. Greene's employs more than 1,100 people worldwide with its group headquarters in Houston and operations headquarters in Lafayette, La.

Warren Resources appoints Epstein as chairman and CEO

Independent oil and gas exploration, development and production company Warren Resources Inc. has appointed Philip A. Epstein as CEO. He will also serve as chairman of the board of directors. Epstein has over 20 years of experience as a senior executive in the global oil and gas industry. In 1992, Philip played an active role in the founding of Belco Oil & Gas Corp. and served in senior executive positions. Following Belco, Philip co-founded and currently serves as managing director of Calypso Energy LLC, a privately held international oil and gas company. In 2002, Philip co-founded Superior Renewable Energy LLC. From 1988 to 1992, Epstein practiced corporate finance and M&A law at Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson. He holds a BA from the University of Chicago, an MA (Oxon) from Oxford University and a JD from Northwestern University Law School. Espy Price has stepped down as the company's interim chairman and CEO, but will continue serving as a member of the board of directors.

Emerald Oil names Veltri COO

Denver, CO-based Emerald Oil Inc. has appointed David Veltri as COO. Veltri has over 31 years of oil and gas industry experience with a major oil company and several independent oil companies, where he has managed and engineered all phases of upstream and mid-stream oil and gas operations, covering North Dakota, Wyoming, the Rocky Mountains, the Southern US, Mid-Continent, Louisiana, Texas and various international locations. Veltri was most recently vice president / general manager of Baytex Energy USA Ltd. His previous roles include production manager at El Paso Exploration and Production Co., vice president of production and drilling at Yuma Exploration and Production Co., project engineer at EOG Resources, and vice president of production and engineering at Chesapeake Energy Corp. Veltri received a bachelor's degree from West Virginia University.

First Reserve adds to energy focused private equity investment team

First Reserve Corp. has promoted five senior investment team members within the Infrastructure and Buyout funds in Greenwich, Houston and London. John Barry has been promoted to managing director. Barry joined the firm in 2009. He remains instrumental in First Reserve's Energy Infrastructure Fund (FREIF), is a member of the FREIF investment committee and manages the Renovalia Reserve investment. He is based in the London office. Alex Williams has been promoted to managing director. Williams is involved in all areas of the worldwide natural resources industry, with particular expertise in mining and infrastructure related sectors. He joined the firm in 2008. He is based in the London office. Neil Wizel was promoted to managing director. Wizel plays a role in building the firm's buyout investment capability in the downstream and oilfield service areas. He serves on the board of portfolio companies PBF Energy, Saxon Energy Services and Deep Gulf Energy. He will join the board of TPC Group upon the completion of the transaction, expected later this month. He is based in the Houston office. Adi Blum has been promoted to director. Blum continues to serve a role in the management of two of the firm's FREIF investments, SunEdison Reserve and First Caribbean Power & Midstream. He also serves as a member of the board of directors of the two companies. He is based in the Greenwich office. Mark Saxe has been promoted to director. Saxe has helped expand the firm's presence in the midstream vertical as it relates to FREIF. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of First ECA Midstream and Caliber Midstream. He joined First Reserve in 2011. He is located in the Greenwich office.

Energy project finance partner Malone joins King & Spalding in Singapore

King & Spalding has recruited Kelly Malone, a specialist in cross-border development and financing of major energy projects, as a partner in its energy practice. Malone will be based in King & Spalding's Singapore office. He joins from the Singapore office of Norwegian firm Wikborg Rein, where he was a partner and head of that firm's global projects team. King & Spalding's Singapore office serves as a hub for the firm's work in energy projects and international arbitration throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Taylor-DeJongh expands advisory board

Philippe Jaccard and Sheikh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo have joined Taylor-DeJongh as members of the advisory board. Jaccard will support TDJ's efforts in working with Government Ministries in emerging and frontier markets and Sheikh DeLorenzo will participate in the firm's development of a new TDJ Islamic Finance practice focused on origination, structuring and placement of asset backed global transactions. Jaccard has over 35 years of experience as an advisor, businessman and diplomat. Throughout his career, he has advised Central Banks in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America on monetary policy. His career includes a distinguished period with the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Jaccard also served as Chief of Staff for the Swiss Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as for the Swiss Minister of Public Economy. Jaccard is also chairman of the board, board member, and former board member of several Swiss and international companies and public corporations, including the Swiss Office for the Promotion of Trade, the Swiss Society of Chemical Industries, and the Chamber of Commerce of Vaud. He is active in the energy sector at the board level of several international energy companies. Sheikh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo is a well-known and respected Islamic scholar whose career spans more than 30 years. Based in the US, he serves as a Shariah advisor to over 30 global financial entities, including index providers, banks, mutual funds, real estate funds, leasing funds, institutional investors, alternative asset managers and others. Sheikh Yusuf has also been a special consultant, appointed by the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah, to the International Financial Services Board (IFSB) on the subject of Sukuk.

Rose Rock Midstream elects Dunn to board

Rose Rock Midstream LP has elected Robert E. Dunn as the newest member of the company's board of directors. Dunn has over 40 years of experience in the energy industry. Dunn currently serves as president and CEO of Prism Midstream LLC. In 2000, he founded Prism Gas Systems. That company was acquired by Martin Midstream Partners in 2005, where he continued as senior vice president until 2012. From 1982 to 1999, Dunn was employed by Union Pacific Resources, last serving as vice president of gathering and processing. Dunn has a master's degree in business administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor's of science degree from the University of Tennessee.

Former CFTC counsel joins Covington's corporate practice

Julian E. Hammar, former assistant general counsel at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has joined Covington & Burling LLP's corporate, securities, and energy regulation groups. Hammar joins the firm's Washington office as special counsel where he will focus on advising clients on the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. During his 13 years at the CFTC, Hammar worked with the SEC and other staff to draft regulations required by the Dodd-Frank Act, including further defining key terms such as "swap." Hammar also provided technical legislative assistance and frequently briefed the Treasury Department and House and Senate Committee staffs regarding various aspects of the Commodity Exchange Act. Hammar earned a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a master's degree and law degree from Duke University. Hammar is a member of the New York Bar. He is currently not admitted in the District of Columbia but is supervised by principals of the firm.