Energy Players

LUX Assure has appointed Charles Cruickshank as its new CEO. Cruickshank holds 27 years' experience in the oil and gas industry, having previously held the position of business development director at oilfield service company Petrofac Engineering Consultancy Services. Prior, he was commercial director for subsea specialist company Flexlife. Cruickshank will divide his time between LUX Assure's new Aberdeen base and its Edinburgh headquarters. Earlier this year the company changed its name from LUX Innovate to LUX Assure. The name change came alongside the recent £3.25million funding to transform the company from an R&D-focused business into a service provider for the oil and gas industry.

Seadrill appoints new CEO

Per Wullf will succeed Frerik Halvorsen as CEO of Seadrill Management Ltd. Halvorsen left Seadrill at the end of July to join Ubon Partners, a technology venture. Wullf has worked for Seadrill since February 2009 as executive vice president and COO. Prior to Seadrill, he held several senior positions in Maersk, most recently as managing director of Maersk Contractors in Norway. He has 33 years of experience in the drilling industry, including 17 years in international and offshore operations. Wullf will, for the time being, retain his position as the company's COO. Certainfunctions previously associated with the CEO such as investor presentations, corporate transactions, and financing will be assumed by the CFO Rune Magnus Lundetrae and the CAO Rob Hingley-Wilson. Seadrill has a fleet comprising of 62 units, including newbuilds under construction.

SEMPCheck Services makes leadership changes

SEMPCheck Services Inc., a provider of web-based safety and environmental compliance management solutions to the energy industry, has promoted James "Jim" Steffler from vice president and chief administrative officer to chief operating officer. Steffler is now responsible for executive management across multiple functions including operations, business development and finance. Steffler brings over 30 years of experience in the energy industry. In addition, the company added Tad LeBlanc as vice president of operations. With over 30 years of oilfield related experience, LeBlanc most recently served as vice president of Health, Safety, Environmental & Regulatory Compliance for Black Elk Energy. LeBlanc attended Nichols State University and graduated with degrees in Petroleum Safety and Petroleum Technology. Tad is also a Certified Occupational Safety Specialist.

Manning joins Midland office of Burleson

Strengthening its Litigation Practice Group focused on services to companies with interests in the Permian Basin, energy law firm Burleson LLP has added Brandy Manning as a partner in its Midland office. Manning concentrates her practice in litigation, appellate, and oil and gas law. She has broad experience in matters impacting oil and gas companies in the region. She has drafted appellate briefs at all levels and argued before state and federal trial and appellate courts on a range of industry issues related to all of the major Texas energy markets. Her background also includes representing companies in ad valorem tax disputes involving mineral interests, such as facilities, working interests, and royalties, through trial and before the Appraisal Review Board, intermediate Courts of Appeal, and the Texas Supreme Court. She earned a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University and a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law.

Sabey joins PWA to drive business development, sales

Produced Water Absorbents Inc. (PWA) of Ohio has appointed John Sabey as vice president of the company's business development and strategic planning. PWA provides waste water treatment solutions to the oil and gas industry. Sabey holds over 25 years' experience in the upstream oil and gas industry. Sabey earned a master's degree from Virginia Tech University and began his career as an associate process engineer at Davy McKee Corp. in Cleveland, Ohio, before joining WEMCO, a division of Baker Hughes. He later relocated to Houston to become the Latin America sales manager at Baker Hughes Process Systems and subsequently accepted a position at Kvaerner Process Systems. In 2005, he was one of four principals responsible for the startup of ProSep Technologies Inc. He most recently worked as a sales/process director at VME Process Inc.

Brown named VP at UniversalPegasus

UniversalPegasus International (UPI) has named Tim Brown as senior vice president, business development. Brown has more than 30 years of experience in the engineering and construction sectors. He comes to UPI from Jacobs Engineering where he held the position of global vice president, inside sales and marketing. Brown was responsible for downstream, upstream, chemicals and pharmaceuticals/biotechnology business unit sales, with regional focus on North America, India and the Middle East. Brown also worked for Fluor Corp. for more than 20 years in a variety of roles. He has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Penn State University and a bachelor's degree in physics and math from Slippery Rock University. In addition, Brown has a master's degree in theology from Biola University and additional post-graduate executive education.

Holland Services hires Sabia as a senior VP

Holland Services has named John Sabia senior vice president of integrated asset management. Prior to joining Holland Services, Sabia invested capital on behalf of clients at Goldman Sachs & Co. He received an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel-Hill. Prior to graduate school he worked in a family owned company, and served as an Infantry Officer in the United States Army where he earned the Bronze Star in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sabia is a graduate of the United States Army Ranger School and Airborne School, and received his undergraduate degree from the US Military Academy, West Point, NY where he majored in Geospatial Information Systems.

GulfStar Group promotes Stanzel to VP

Middle market investment and merchant bank GulfStar Group has promoted Chase Stanzel to vice president. Stanzel joined GulfStar Group in 2010 as an associate. While completing his MBA, Stanzel worked as an associate for the private equity firm, SigmaBleyzer, where he assisted in the valuation and due diligence of potential portfolio companies. Prior to business school, Stanzel was a project engineer for Orion Marine Group, a heavy civil marine contractor. Chase earned his MBA with a concentration in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University. He received his bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University.

PNC expands energy lending team

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. has named Tom Byargeon a managing director and head of its energy banking team. PNC's energy group will serve clients across the energy spectrum including exploration and production, midstream, refining/marketing, oilfield services and reserve based lending. Byargeon and his team will be based in Houston. With 30 years of banking experience, Byargeon comes to PNC from the Credit Agricole where he served as the US head of the Independent Oil and Natural Gas Producers Group. Byargeon earned a BBA from Stephen F. Austin State University and holds Series 7 and 63 securities licenses.

Barron joins Cimarex Energy as senior VP, general counsel

Francis B. Barron has joined Denver, CO-based Cimarex Energy Co. as senior vice president – general counsel. Barron joins Cimarex from Bill Barrett Corp. where he served as executive vice president—general counsel since February 2009 and as secretary since March 2004. He served as senior vice president—general counsel from March 2004 until February 2009 and as CFO from November 2006 until March 2007. Previously, Barron was a partner at Patton Boggs LLP as well as a partner at Bearman Talesnick & Clowdus Professional Corp. His practice included corporate, securities and business law for publicly traded oil and gas companies. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Denver and a JD from the University of Colorado. In addition, Thomas A. Richardson has retired from his position as vice president – general counsel of Cimarex. Richardson had served in the position since August 2008. Richardson had been associated with Cimarex for over 15 years as both a valued employee and as outside counsel while partner at the Denver-based law firm of Holme Roberts & Owen (now Bryan Cave HRO).

CFO departs Renegade Petroleum

Alexander Wylie, vice president, finance and CFO of Renegade Petroleum Ltd. has left the company. Mark Lobello CA, controller of the company, has been appointed interim CFO. The light oil focused development and production company with assets in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and North Dakota is in the middle of a strategic review.

Archer appoints King CEO, elects new chairman

Archer Ltd. has appointed David King as CEO. King has over 30 years of experience in international oilfield services and replaces Fredrik Halvorsen who had been Archer's interim CEO since January 2012. King most recently worked as president of Halliburton's Completion and Production Division. He left Halliburton in 2010 after 32 years with the company to become an independent consultant. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Alabama and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. Saad Bargach will step down from his position as chairman of the board of Archer, but will remain a director. John Reynolds has been elected chairman. Reynolds is the co-founder and managing director of Lime Rock Partners.

TPH adds to upstream advisory business with Bradshaw, Sproule

Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) has expanded its upstream advisory business with the addition of David Bradshaw and David Sproule. Bradshaw, now a managing director at TPH, is an industry veteran whose upstream career began as an upstream equity research analyst. He was an analyst at DLJ, and, more recently, an advisory director at UBS where he was focused on US independents and the firm's upstream MLP efforts. David Sproule, also formerly of UBS, joins as a vice president. He worked with Bradshaw and others in the firm's upstream investment banking efforts.