ENERGY PLAYERS

Chevron Corp. has elected Michael K. Wirth chairman of the board and CEO, effective February 1, 2018. Wirth, who is currently vice chairman of the board and executive vice president of midstream and development, succeeds John S. Watson, who will retire from the company and its board on February 1, 2018, after 37 years of distinguished service, including eight years as chairman and CEO. Wirth joined Chevron in 1982 as a design engineer. He was named vice chairman of the board of directors in February 2017. He has held the position of executive vice president of midstream and development since 2016. Previously, he was executive vice president of downstream and chemicals for nearly a decade. Watson, who turns 61 in October, joined Chevron in 1980 as a financial analyst and went on to hold financial, analytical, and supervisory positions before being appointed president of Chevron Canada Limited in 1996. In 1998, he was named a corporate vice president with responsibility for strategic planning and mergers and acquisitions. In 2000, Watson led the company's integration effort following the Chevron-Texaco merger and then became the corporation's CFO. In 2005, he became president of Chevron International Exploration and Production. In April 2009, he was named vice chairman of the company, before being elected chairman and CEO in September of that year. In a related move, Mark A. Nelson will become vice president of midstream, strategy and policy, effective February 1, 2018. Nelson will be responsible for the company's supply and trading, shipping, pipeline and power operating units. He will also oversee corporate strategy, as well as policy, government and public affairs. Prior to his current position, Nelson, 54, served as the president of international products, responsible for the refining and marketing businesses in Europe, Africa, Middle East, and Asia. Before that, he was president of Chevron Canada Limited, an upstream business headquartered in Calgary, Alberta.

DEA names Moraeus Hanssen as CEO

DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, the international oil and gas company wholly owned by LetterOne, has appointed Maria Moraeus Hanssen as its new CEO and chairman of the management board. The appointment is expected to take effect in January 2018, when Maria Moraeus Hanssen succeeds Thomas Rappuhn, who is handing over after 30 years at the company, including 12 years on the Executive Board and eight years as CEO. Maria Moraeus Hanssen is currently CEO of the French utility group ENGIE's exploration and production business. She has extensive oil and gas industry experience having worked for Hydro ASA, Statoil ASA, and Aker ASA. She trained as a reservoir engineer and petroleum economist, and spent the first 15 years of her career with Hydro ASA. Shortly after Statoil bought Hydro's oil and gas activity, Maria Moraeus Hanssen left to join Kjell Inge Røkke's Aker Group. Maria Moraeus Hanssen returned to a more operational role in 2014, heading up GDF SUEZ's Norwegian business. In 2015, she was promoted to run GDF SUEZ's international E&P business. GDF SUEZ changed its name to ENGIE in the same year.

Carl Marks Advisors promotes Williams to partner

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 Advisors, Williams served as CFO, co-founder, and director of Cretic Energy Services, a provider of completion services to oil and gas producers. Before that, Williams led the oilfield services investment banking practices at Macquarie Capital and Tristone Capital. Williams earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

EOG Resources appoints Gaut to board

EOG Resources Inc. has appointed C. Christopher Gaut to its board of directors, effective October 1, 2017. Gaut most recently served as chairman and CEO of Forum Energy Technologies Inc. (Forum), a publicly traded oilfield manufacturing company, from 2010 through May of this year, and continues to serve as executive chairman of Forum. Gaut also serves as a director of Ensco plc (Ensco) and Key Energy Services Inc. Prior to Forum, Gaut was a managing director of SCF Partners, a private equity firm investing in oilfield service and equipment companies, from 2009 to 2010. Prior to SCF, Gaut worked for Halliburton Company for six years, first as executive vice president and CFO, then as president of drilling and evaluation. Prior to Halliburton, Gaut was Ensco's senior vice president and CFO for more than 15 years. Gaut also served as co-COO during his final year with Ensco.

Vanguard Natural Resources hires financial advisor, names new CFO

Vanguard Natural Resources Inc. has outlined changes to the company including the retention of a financial advisor and the appointment of a new CFO. The board of directors has retained Jefferies LLC to advise the company in connection with one or more potential strategic transactions, including possible sales or dispositions of assets, joint ventures, strategic partnerships or other similar transactions. The company has also appointed a new CFO. Effective immediately, Richard Scott Sloan will serve as executive vice president and CFO. Sloan will remain on the board, on which he has served since August 2017, but step down from his roles as chair of the audit committee and member of the compensation committee of the board. Sloan previously held various senior leadership positions over his 27-year career at BP and Hess. He received his BA in Economics from Colgate University and MBA in Corporate Finance from the University of Chicago. On September 26, 2017, Richard A. Robert, Vanguard's former executive vice president and CFO tendered his immediate resignation. On September 26, 2017, Randall M. Albert was elected to join the board, filling the vacancy created by Robert's resignation. Albert will stand for reelection at the company's next annual meeting of stockholders. Albert most recently retired from CONSOL Energy after a 34-year career, last serving as COO-Gas. Albert also currently serves as an independent director of Eclipse Resources and non-executive board member at Wellsite Rentals, and is the immediate past chairman of the Marcellus Shale Coalition and a member of the Virginia Tech Mining and Minerals Engineering Advisory Board. Albert holds a BS in Mining Engineering from Virginia Tech. Additionally, the common stock of Vanguard Natural Resources will begin trading over-the-counter today on the OTCQX Market under the symbol VNRR.

Wallis joins NGP as partner

James Wallis has joined NGP, a private equity firm in the energy and natural resources industry, as a partner in the firm's Houston office. Wallis was previously a managing director with Lime Rock Partners in its Houston office. He joined the firm in 2007 and was primarily focused on sourcing, evaluating, and investing in North American E&P and oilfield service opportunities. Prior to joining Lime Rock, Wallis worked in the energy investment banking groups of Merrill Lynch and Petrie Parkman & Co.

Chesapeake appoints Keating to board

Chesapeake has appointed Leslie S. Keating to the Board of Directors. Keating will serve as a member of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee and will stand for re-election at the 2018 annual meeting of shareholders. Keating currently serves as executive vice president of supply chain strategy and transformation for Advance Auto Parts. Keating joined Advance Auto Parts in March of 2017 following a 31-year career with PepsiCo. While at PepsiCo, Keating most recently served as senior vice president - supply chain. Keating graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and holds an executive MBA from Georgia State University.

Openlink names Grossi CEO, O'Malley assumes role of chairman

Openlink, a provider of trading, treasury, and risk management solutions for the energy, commodities, corporate, and financial services industries, has promoted Rich Grossi to CEO. John O'Malley has transitioned to the role of executive chairman of the board. Grossi holds nearly 20 years of operational and technological experience at Openlink. As CTO, he oversaw the development of Openlink's products and technology as well as management of the company's IT and information security. Previously, Rich spent nearly a decade directing Openlink's global operations.

Rawlinson joins Eversheds Sutherland

Matthew C. Rawlinson has joined the litigation practice group of Eversheds Sutherland in the firm's Houston office. Rawlinson previously served as a partner at Hicks Thomas LLP. Rawlinson represents a broad array of clients in complex commercial and energy-litigation matters in many state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels. With more than 18 years of experience, he is well-versed in handling oil and gas industry commercial disputes. He regularly works with investors, energy providers, project developers, underwriters and commodity trading firms to navigate the emerging issues that arise from oilfield services, interstate gas pipeline projects, and energy sector contracts.

Secure Energy Services makes management changes

Secure Energy Services Inc. has made various management changes. Allen Gransch has been named executive vice president of corporate development. Gransch joined Secure in September 2007 and has served as the company's executive vice president and CFO since December 2012. Secure has appointed Chad Magus as executive vice president and CFO. Magus joined Secure in June 2014 and most recently served as the company's vice president of corporate finance. Prior to joining Secure, Magus spent over 10 years with an oil and gas exploration and production company in a variety of finance, accounting, and financial reporting roles. Magus is a Chartered Accountant and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Saskatchewan. Additionally, Secure has made the following changes to its executive team: Corey Higham, executive vice president of midstream, will transition to EVP of processing, recovery, and disposal; Dave Engel, executive vice president of processing recovery and disposal, will transition to EVP of technical services; Dan Steinke, executive vice president of corporate development, will transition to EVP of new ventures and government affairs; and Mike Mikuska will join Secure's executive team as EVP of commercial and transportation. Secure is a TSX publicly traded energy infrastructure and services company that provides management of fluids and solids solutions to the oil and gas industry in Western Canada and certain regions in the United States.

Sumruld to join Parker Drilling as CFO

Parker Drilling Company has appointed Michael (Mike) W. Sumruld as senior vice president and CFO, effective October 1, 2017. With Mr. Sumruld's appointment, Jon-Al Duplantier, Parker Drilling's senior vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel will relinquish his additional responsibilities as interim CFO. Sumruld most recently held the position of vice president and chief accounting officer from January through September 2017 at LyondellBasell Industries NV. Prior to LyondellBasell, Sumruld worked at Baker Hughes Inc. During his 18 year tenure, he held a range of financial roles, including most recently vice president and treasurer; vice president finance - Eastern Hemisphere; and director - investor relations. Sumruld is a certified public accountant and holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Houston and an MBA from Texas A&M University.

Frank's International names new CEO

Douglas G. Stephens, CEO and member of the board of supervisory directors for Frank's International NV, has left the company to pursue other interests. The company has named Michael C. Kearney as president and CEO, effective immediately, in addition to his ongoing role as chairman. Kearney was appointed to the company's supervisory board in 2013 and was lead supervisory director from May 2014 until December 2015, when he was named chairman. In addition, he has served on the audit committee since 2013 and the compensation committee from 2014 until 2016. Kearney previously served as president and CEO of DeepFlex Inc., a privately-held oil service company following service as the company's CFO. Kearney also served as executive vice president and CFO of Tesco Corp. and as CFO and vice president-administration for Hydril Company. Kearney received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas A&M University as well as a Master of Science degree in Accountancy from the University of Houston.

Well-Centric appoints new CEO

Well Centric, an independent specialist operating in the well integrity and production technology sectors, has appointed Gary Smart as CEO. Smart brings 30 years' oil and gas industry experience to the role. He has held a variety of management positions throughout his career, spending 11 years at Weatherford before joining Tendeka in 2009, where he spent six years as CEO.

Energy litigators join Haynes and Boone

Craig Stahl and Jeffrey Kuehnle have joined the Houston office of Haynes and Boone LLP as partners in the Litigation and Energy Practice Groups. Stahl has decades of experience handling oil and gas litigation, including serving as lead counsel for oil and gas producers in multidistrict litigation and class actions. He has particular experience handling disputes over royalty payments and joint operating agreements and has appeared in state and federal courts across Texas and the US. Stahl most recently co-chaired the Energy Litigation Practice at Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP. Kuehnle, who has worked with Stahl for 20 years, also was an Andrews Kurth partner and has focused much of his career on representing major energy producers in multimillion-dollar lawsuits and appeals. He has a mechanical engineering degree from Texas A&M University.

Van Bergh joins Deutsche Bank as vice chairman, Americas Natural Resources Group

Deutsche Bank has appointed Scott Van Bergh as vice chairman of Americas Natural Resources Group. Van Bergh joins from Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he has been since 2003, most recently as vice chairman of Global Energy Investment Banking. During his career at BofAML, Van Bergh built out the bank's oil and gas investment banking business, including heading the Americas energy practice from 2008 to 2014. He also ran or co-ran the energy businesses at Paine Webber, Salomon Brothers and Citi before joining Bank of America. He will be based in New York.

Noble names Robertson to board

Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation plc has named Julie J. Robertson to the company's board of directors. Robertson will fill a board vacancy created by a recent retirement. She will serve as a director of the company until the next shareholder vote at the annual general meeting in 2018. Robertson has spent more than 38 years with Noble and its subsidiaries. She has served as the company's executive vice president since 2006 and corporate secretary since 1993, and will retain both roles. Robertson is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard School of Business.

KP Engineering appoints Two New Midstream Executives

KPE has appointed two new executives to lead its midstream operations in the Northeast Region. David A. Fitch, senior vice president of operations and John Paul Elder, vice president of engineering will establish KPE's midstream operations and work to significantly increase the company's presence in the Marcellus and Utica natural gas basins. Fitch has a distinguished military career with the United States Navy and more than 15 years of experience in the oil, gas, and energy industries. His most recent position was senior vice president of operations for the nnortheast region for MarkWest Energy Partners LP. , where he was responsible for the company's operations in the Marcellus and Utica Basins. Elder has a deep background in midstream operations and engineering, and he most recently served as vice president, northeast engineering for MarkWest Energy Partners LP.

BHGE Elects Simonelli as BHGE board Chairman

Baker Hughes, a GE company has elected BHGE president and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli as chairman of the BHGE board, effective October 2. Simonelli will continue in his president and CEO role, which he has held since the closing of the combination of Baker Hughes Inc. and GE's Oil and Gas business on July 3, 2017. Simonelli replaces former GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt, who retired from the BHGE board of directors effective October 2. In addition to Immelt's departure, BHGE board member Larry Nichols has announced his decision to resign from the board. Nichols served as a member of the legacy Baker Hughes Inc. board, and for the past 16 years has provided valuable counsel and board leadership. With these two resignations, BHGE has reduced the size of its board to nine members and has named current GE-designee BHGE board member W. Geoffrey Beattie as the new lead director. GE owns approximately 62.5% of BHGE, and retains five designated seats on the BHGE board.

Painted Pony names Kessy COO

Painted Pony Energy Ltd. has named Rick Kessy as COO. Effective October 1, 2017, Kessy will oversee all aspects of the corporation's well activities and field operations, including drilling and well completion operations, production facilities and infrastructure, and production operations. Kessy brings over 34 years of oil and gas industry experience. Most recently Kessy was the vice president and director of the Marcellus Business Unit, Repsol Oil & Gas USA. His previous roles include vice president Marcellus Infrastructure and Production Operations at Talisman Energy Inc. Kessy earned a bachelor's degree in chemical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan and is a professional engineer registered with APEGA. Painted Pony is a publicly-traded natural gas company based in Western Canada. The corporation is primarily focused on the development of natural gas and natural gas liquids from the Montney formation in northeast British Columbia.

CGG Congratulates Sam Gray on Receiving the SEG Maurice Ewing Medal

Sam Gray, who recently retired as Senior Researcher, Subsurface Imaging, CGG, has been distinguished with the Society of Exploration Geophysicists' (SEG) Maurice Ewing Medal "in recognition of his impressive work with major contributions in the areas of depth imaging, velocity estimation, and seismic modeling, his ability to convey complicated mathematical formulas behind seismic imaging, and inspiring newcomers to the geophysical industry to carry the torch to further advance imaging technology." The Maurice Ewing Medal is awarded from time to time to a person who, in the unanimous opinion of the SEG Honors and Awards Committee and of the Board of Directors, is deserving of special recognition through having made major contributions to the advancement of the science and profession of exploration geophysics. After gaining a PhD in mathematics at the University of Denver in 1978, Sam worked for the US Naval Research Lab and then as an instructor at the General Motors Institute, now Kettering University. His career in exploration geophysics began in 1982 when he joined Amoco. There, he took the lead in giving the company a pioneering capability in 3D Kirchhoff prestack depth migration in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Sam moved to Veritas, now CGG, in 1999 where he played a pivotal role in developing true-amplitude migration, especially various key components of beam migration technology, as a member of the R&D team. In 2010 his contributions to beam migration and other true-amplitude imaging issues were recognized with the SEG's Reginald Fessenden Award. He also became the first author to win the combination of SEG awards for Best Paper in Geophysics (1999), Best Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting (2004), and Best Paper in The Leading Edge (2009). In 2012 he was an SEG Distinguished Lecturer, presenting "A brief history of depth … and time seismic imaging." CGG is a fully integrated geoscience company providing geological, geophysical, and reservoir capabilities to its broad base of customers primarily from the global oil and gas industry.

Deep Down appoints executive chairman, CFO

Deep Down Inc., an oilfield services company specializing in complex deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil production distribution system support services, has accepted the resignation of executive chairman and CFO, Eugene Butler, effective September 30, 2017. Current audit committee chairman, Mark Carden, has been named chairman of the board and current business manager, Charles Njuguna, has been named CFO.

Butler will continue to provide financial and SEC guidance in a consulting capacity until December 31, 2018.

Eckert joins Flowserve as CFO

Lee Eckert has joined Flowserve Corp. , a provider of flow control products and services for the global infrastructure markets, to serve as senior vice president and CFO, effective October 9, 2017. Eckert joins Flowserve from CHC Group LLC, a global commercial helicopter service provider to the offshore oil and gas industry, where he served as senior vice president and CFO since 2015. Eckert has over two decades of financial experience. Before joining CHC Group LLC, he served as CFO of the US division of National Grid Plc.