ENERGY PLAYERS

Compressor Engineering Corp. (CECO) & CECO Pipeline Services has named Heath Cleaver as the company's CFO. Cleaver is a senior accounting and finance executive who has more than 20 years of experience focused across the energy spectrum including roles with fabrication and manufacturing, drilling services, and E&P companies. Recently, Cleaver has been providing CFO consulting services for a diverse range of clients in the home water purification, manufacturing, and oil and gas industries. Prior, Cleaver served as CFO of Global Fabrication Services Inc., a privately held flame-cutting and fabrication company, Porto Energy Corp., an oil and gas company, as well as chief accounting officer of BPZ Resources Inc. Cleaver is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas and holds a bachelor's degree in business administration - accounting from Texas A&M University.

Allen joins Opportune

Jim Allen has joined Opportune LLP, a global energy consulting firm, as managing director with the Complex Financial Reporting practice. Based in Denver, Allen will focus on technical research and documentation, SEC reporting, capital market transactions, financial planning and analysis, mergers and acquisitions and financial due diligence. He previously served as CFO and treasurer at Molycorp Inc. and senior vice president of finance at Neo Performance Materials (formerly Molycorp Inc.). Allen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration - Accounting from Colorado State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Colorado.

DLA Piper adds Donnenberg in Houston

Gislar Donnenberg has joined DLA Piper in the firm's corporate practice as a partner in Houston. Gonnenberg focuses his practice largely on capital markets matters in the energy sector, where he has more than 20 years of experience representing both public and private companies engaged in the exploration, production and distribution of natural gas, crude oil and refined petroleum products. He has represented dozens of clients in high-value deals, including IPOs, public equity and debt offerings and mergers and acquisitions, including "drop-downs" from MLP sponsors. Donnenberg also advises clients on corporate governance issues, including those related to regulatory compliance, executive compensation, acquisition structuring and conflicts committees. Prior to joining DLA Piper, Donnenberg was a partner with Paul Hastings LLP. He received his JD from the University of Texas School of Law, and his PhD and MA from the University of Innsbruck, Austria.

Bracewell adds energy partner to Houston office

Carl von Merz has joined the Houston office of Bracewell LLP as a partner focusing on the upstream oil and gas industry. Von Merz joins Bracewell from Morgan Lewis. Von Merz focuses on acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and private equity investments related to upstream oil and gas properties in unconventional basins throughout the US. He also advises private equity funds and management teams on the formation of partnerships and other joint ventures for investment in all areas of the energy sector. Previously, von Merz served as lead counsel for a global energy company, where he advised on upstream mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and operational matters. He is fluent in Spanish and has represented clients in cross-border transactions across Latin America, including Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia. Von Merz received his bachelor's degree from Duke University and his JD from the University of Chicago Law School in 2003.

Quorum names Queener head of Quorum Canada

Quorum has named Roy Queener as the head of its Canadian Business Unit. Since 2002, Quorum Canada has had a successful history of working with Canadian customers to become the leading provider of operational accounting software solutions for midstream and pipeline companies in Western Canada. Last year, Quorum Canada introduced an edition of its myQuorum Land Management software designed specifically for Canada. Queener joined Quorum in 2005, developing over a decade of experience delivering technology to the oil and gas industry for companies ranging from juniors to supermajors. Most recently, Queener was responsible for Quorum's US Midstream & Transportation commercial activities as an Account Manager. Queener holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas (UT) at Austin.

Willbros makes CFO, CAO appointments

Willbros Group Inc. has promoted Jeffrey B. Kappel and S. Brett Luz to key financial positions effective August 30, 2017. Kappel has been appointed senior vice president and CFO and Luz has been named vice president and chief accounting officer. Both positions were previously held by Van A. Welch, who tendered his resignation, effective August 30, 2017. Kappel has 11 years of experience in the engineering and construction industry. He currently serves as corporate controller, operations at Willbros. He joined Willbros in 2013. Prior to joining Willbros, Kappel worked for Technip, the Shaw Group, and PwC. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University and is a CPA. Luz, joined Willbros six years ago and currently serves as corporate controller, financial reporting. Before joining the company, Luz spent eight years with PwC. He is a graduate of Texas Christian University and is a CPA. Willbros is a specialty energy infrastructure contractor serving the oil and gas and power industries.

Citi names co-heads of Energy A&D team

Citi has appointed Matthew Brogdon and Bruce Cox as co-heads of the firm's Energy Acquisitions & Divestitures (A&D) Group. As senior investment bankers in the Global Energy Group, Brogdon and Cox will provide A&D and M&A advisory and transaction execution services, as well as deliver broad-based market and strategic advice to oil and gas companies and financial sponsors. Brogdon and Cox will also work closely with their partners in Citi's Global Energy and Capital Markets Origination groups to provide clients with an array of additional advisory services, including capital raising, corporate lending, and debt and equity issuance. Brogdon joins Citi with more than 18 years of experience in energy and finance, most recently serving as COO of a private oil and gas company. Prior, he focused on M&A in the corporate advisory practice of Evercore Partners. Brogdon has also held senior positions at Bank of Montreal. Cox, a 36-year veteran of both the energy and finance sectors, joins Citi from Credit Suisse, where he was Global Head of Energy A&D. Both Brogdon and Cox were partners at the oil and gas consulting firm of Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc., and began their careers as petroleum engineers with ExxonMobil. They will report to Stephen Trauber and be based in Houston, Texas.

Pacific Drilling makes executive changes

After nearly 10 years with Pacific Drilling SA, Christian J. Beckett has resigned from his positions as CEO and as a member of the drilling contractor's board to pursue other opportunities. Paul T. Reese, the company's current executive vice president and CFO, has been promoted to serve as CEO. Johannes (John) P. Boots, the company's current senior vice president - finance and treasurer, has been promoted to serve as senior vice president and CFO. Richard E. Tatum, the company's current vice president and controller, has been promoted to serve as senior vice president and chief accounting officer. Reese joined Pacific Drilling in October 2008 and was appointed executive vice president and CFO in February 2015. He has over 20 years of experience in the oilfield services and E&P space. Boots joined the company in December 2009 as vice president and treasurer, and was appointed senior vice president - finance and treasurer in May 2016. He has over 25 years of experience in public and private US and European companies in the international oil service sector. Tatum joined Pacific Drilling in October 2010, and has served as vice president and controller and principal accounting officer since March 2014. Tatum has over 15 years of experience in offshore drilling and public accounting.

Venari Resources names Abendschein COO

Venari Resources LLC, a deepwater oil exploration and production company in the Gulf of Mexico, has appointed Bob Abendschein as COO. Abendschein joins Venari with over 30 years' experience at Anadarko Petroleum, where he most recently held the position of vice president of Deepwater Americas Operations. Abendschein holds a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University. Venari Resources, a privately held offshore exploration and production company founded in 2012, is focused on the oil-prone subsalt region in the Gulf of Mexico's deep waters. Since its formation, global investment firms led by Warburg Pincus, Kelso & Company, Temasek, and The Jordan Company have committed $2.4 billion of capital to Venari's exploration program and development projects. Venari has built a large inventory of drillable prospects and leases in the Gulf of Mexico including the Anchor discovery in Green Canyon and the Shenandoah discovery in the Walker Ridge area. The company is headquartered in Dallas and has an additional office in Houston.

EQT, EQT Midstream Partners appoint Ashcroft as midstream president, COO

EQT Corp. has appointed Jeremiah J. Ashcroft III as senior vice president; and president, midstream of EQT Corp., effective August 7, 2017. Ashcroft was also appointed senior vice president and COO for EQT Midstream Partners LP (EQM) and will join the EQM board of directors. Ashcroft replaces Lisa Hyland, who has been with EQT since 2000 and whose intent to retire was announced in March 2017. Hyland will remain senior vice president, special projects for EQT through March 2018. Ashcroft has a distinguished military career with the United States Marine Corps, as well as more than 15 years of experience in the oil, gas, and pipeline industries. His most recent position was CEO of Gulf Oil LP - a distributor of fuel products and lubricants, based in Boston, MA. Prior to that, he was COO for JP Energy Partners. Ashcroft holds a Master of Business Administration, with a concentration in finance, from Emory University Goizueta Business School; and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy.

Jagged Peak names COO

Permian Basin-focused Jagged Peak Energy Inc. has appointed J. Jay Stratton, Jr. as its executive vice president and COO. Most recently, Stratton was the COO of Permian Resources LLC, the successor to American Energy Partners' Permian Basin portfolio company where he served since 2014. Prior, he was a district manager for Permian Basin and Mid-Continent assets for Chesapeake Energy Corp. Stratton holds a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University. Jagged Peak Energy Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the acquisition and development of unconventional oil and associated liquids-rich natural gas reserves in the Southern Delaware Basin, a sub-basin of the Permian Basin of West Texas.

Bromley to retire as EVP, general counsel of MPLX LP

C. Corwin "Cory" Bromley, executive vice president and general counsel for MPLX LP, has elected to retire effective Jan. 1, 2018, after a 33-year legal career in the energy, minerals, and construction industries. Bromley joined MPLX in 2015, at the time of its combination with MarkWest Energy Partners LP. Bromley joined MarkWest as general counsel in 2004. Prior to his career with MarkWest, Bromley was assistant general counsel at Foundation Coal Holdings Inc., general managing attorney and senior environmental attorney at Cyprus Amax Minerals Company, and in private practice with the law firm of Popham, Haik, Schnobrich & Kaufman. Prior to his legal career, Bromley was a structural and design engineer with CB&I/the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company. Suzanne Gagle, currently vice president and general counsel of Marathon Petroleum Corp., will be appointed vice president and general counsel of MPLX effective Oct. 1, 2017. Gagle will report to MPLX president Michael J. Hennigan. She will continue to serve in her role at MPC where she reports to Heminger, who also is chairman and CEO of MPC. Bromley will support Gagle in her role at MPLX from Oct. 1 through his retirement date. Gagle began her career with MPC in 1992 and has held several positions in its Law organization, including senior group counsel for MPC Operations and assistant general counsel with MPC's Law Litigation and Human Resources organization. She assumed her current role with MPC in 2016. MPLX is a diversified, growth-oriented master limited partnership formed in 2012 by Marathon Petroleum Corp. to own, operate, develop, and acquire midstream energy infrastructure assets.

Archrock names Hildebrandt SVP, general counsel, secretary

Archrock Inc. has appointed Stephanie C. Hildebrandt as senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary. Hildebrandt most recently served as a partner with global business law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, with a practice focused on corporate governance, energy transactions, and mergers and acquisitions. Hildebrandt previously worked as the senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Enterprise Products Partners LP. Currently, Hildebrandt serves as a director for Rice Midstream Management LLC, the general partner of Rice Midstream Partners LP, and as a member of the conflicts committee; as a member of the advisory council of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law & Business at the University of Texas; and as a member of the University of St. Thomas President's Advisory Board. Archrock is a pure play US natural gas contract compression services business and a supplier of aftermarket services to customers that own compression equipment in the United States. Archrock Inc. holds interests in Archrock Partners LP, a master limited partnership and provider of natural gas contract compression services to customers in the oil and natural gas industry throughout the United States.

Simmons promoted to COO of Cogent Energy Services

Cogent Energy Services has promoted Chris Simmons to COO. Simmons has over 27 years of experience operating coiled tubing units and managing coiled tubing operations. Under Simmons' leadership, Cogent has increased its coiled tubing fleet to nine units operating in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Simmons began his career in 1990 with Cudd Pressure Controls as an equipment operator in their snubbing and coiled tubing divisions. In 2001, he joined C&J Energy Services. As COO, Simmons was instrumental in the formation and growth of C&J. After C&J, Simmons was a consultant for various E&P companies before joining Cogent in January 2017. Simmons will lead the coiled tubing, workover rig, fishing, and reverse unit product lines for Cogent. Cogent is headquartered in Houston and has branch operations in the Permian, Eagle Ford, and Haynesville.

KrisEnergy appoints new CEO

Kelvin Tang, COO and president of KrisEnergy Ltd.'s Cambodian operations, has been appointed CEO, effective September 1, 2017. Jeffrey S. MacDonald has resigned from the interim CEO and board executive director positions, effective August 31, 2017. Tang has been working in the upstream oil and gas industry since 2005 when he joined Pearl Energy Ltd. as general counsel and company secretary. KrisEnergy Ltd. is an independent upstream company focused on the exploration for and the development and production of oil and gas in Southeast Asia.

WolfePak Software's Wolfe steps down as CEO

Charlie Wolfe, founder and CEO of WolfePak Software LLC, is stepping down as CEO of the company. He remains a significant shareholder and member of the WolfPak board of directors, and becomes a senior adviser to the company. In the interim, James Colony, a senior executive with over 20 years of leadership experience, has been named the acting leader for WolfePak.

WolfePak Software LLC is a provider of financial, accounting, and regulatory compliance software to the oil and gas industry.

Carl Marks Advisors promotes Williams

Carl Marks Advisors, a corporate restructuring and investment banking firm serving middle market companies, has promoted Brian Williams to partner. With a primary focus in the energy industry, Williams has 20 years of strategic advisory, operating and investment banking experience, including executive management, mergers and acquisitions, private capital raises, restructuring and principal investing. Prior to joining Carl Marks, Williams served as CFO, co-founder, and director of Cretic Energy Services. Before that, Williams led the oilfield services investment banking practices at Macquarie Capital and Tristone Capital. He earned a bachelor's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School.