Vicki Hollub named Occidental CEO

The board of directors of Occidental Petroleum Corp. has officially named Vicki A. Hollub the company's president and CEO, completing the previously disclosed succession plan. Hollub succeeds Stephen I. Chazen, who stepped down as CEO following the company's annual shareholder meeting. Hollub was elected to the board of directors in December 2015. Hollub has been an employee of Occidental since 1982, and most recently served as president and COO. Prior to that, Hollub was senior executive vice president of Occidental and president - Oxy Oil and Gas, executive vice president and president - Oxy Oil and Gas, Americas, and vice president of Occidental and executive vice president, US operations, Oxy Oil and Gas. She previously served as executive vice president, California operations; and president and general manager, Permian Basin operations. Hollub began her career in 1981 with Cities Services, which was acquired a year later by Occidental.

Decom North Sea appoints new chief executive

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Esson

Decom North Sea, the representative body for the offshore decommissioning industry, has appointed Roger Esson as its new chief executive. Esson brings over 20 years' of experience to the role, having held a variety of leadership positions with companies ranging from SMEs to tier 1 contactors. Previous roles have included time with Stork Technical Services and Amec Foster Wheeler's decommissioning division.

FMC Technologies names Pferdehirt CEO

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Pferdehirt

FMC Technologies has appointed Douglas J. Pferdehirt as president and CEO, effective September 1, 2016. Pferdehirt will succeed John T. Gremp, who will continue to serve as chairman of the board of directors while the company completes its transition to the new CEO. After 26 years with Schlumberger Ltd., Pferdehirt joined FMC in August 2012 as executive vice president and COO and was appointed president in May 2015. Gremp, currently CEO and chairman of the FMC Technologies board of directors, will remain on the board as chairman until he retires in May 2017, at which time Pferdehirt will also assume the chairman role. Gremp has served as CEO of FMC Technologies since 2011, having been with the company for 41 years.

Williams joins Carl Marks Advisors as managing director

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Williams

Brian A. Williams has joined Carl Marks Advisors as managing director, supporting the firm's investment banking and advisory teams in the oil and gas sector. Williams brings 20 years of oil and gas investment banking, strategic advisory, and operating experience focused on mergers and acquisitions, public and private capital raises, restructurings, principal investing and executive management. 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. Previously, he led the oilfield services investment banking practices at Macquarie Capital and Tristone Capital. Williams earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

INTECSEA senior vP joins ITF board

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Luff

The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) has appointed Richard Luff to its board as a non-executive director. A chartered civil engineer, Luff has over 40 years' experience in the oil and gas sector and currently serves as INTECSEA's senior vice president for the Europe and Africa region. ITF, a not-for-profit organization focused on the commercial needs of its members, has facilitated the launch of more than 200 projects from early stage concepts through to field trials and commercialization. Luff began his career in 1974 and has since worked in the oil and gas and subsea industries around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Norway, the United States and Brazil.

Calgary energy investment banking managing directors join Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.

Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH & Co.) has named Richard Matthews and Derek Wheatley co-heads of Canada for Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities - Canada. They join TPH & Co. Canada Chair, Hilary Foulkes, in driving the firm's Canadian efforts. Matthews, who will serve as a managing director and co-head of Canada, was previously a managing director and head of Canadian acquisitions and divestitures at FirstEnergy Capital Corp. in Calgary. Prior to that, he served with Scotia Waterous and its predecessor, Waterous & Co., in Calgary and Houston, as well as with Rider Resources and Crestar Energy, both in Calgary. He holds a BSc with Honors in Geological Sciences from the University of Manitoba and an MBA from the University of Calgary. Wheatley will also serve as a managing director and co-head of Canada. A Chartered Financial Analyst, Wheatley has both institutional sales and corporate finance experience. He was previously a managing director of institutional equities at Scotiabank, and prior to that served as a corporate finance director at Scotia Waterous. Wheatley began his career as a corporate finance analyst at predecessor firm Waterous & Co. and holds a BComm in Finance from the University of Calgary. TPH & Co. intends to establish a full service investment bank in Canada, providing integrated views of North American and global energy to clients. The Calgary-based team will cater to companies in the upstream, infrastructure and oilfield services sectors, as well as coordinate with TPH & Co.'s Equity Research team.

Kurdock joins Babst Calland

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Kurdock

Brianne K. Kurdock has joined Babst Calland as a shareholder in the firm's Energy and Natural Resources Group. She is the newest member of the pipeline and hazardous materials safety practice in Washington, D.C. Kurdock joins from the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), where she served as the primary regulatory attorney. She also worked at the US Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) where she handled regulatory, enforcement, and litigation matters involving the federal regulation of oil and gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas facilities. She also served as regional counsel in administrative enforcement cases and incident investigations. While at PHMSA, Kurdock served as lead attorney for special permit applications and rulemaking initiatives and represented PHMSA in inter-agency meetings with the Department of Justice, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior. Kurdock received her JD from Seton Hall University School of Law, and a bachelor's degree in government from the University of Virginia.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman appoints new oil minister

On May 7, Saudi Aramco's chairman and former chief executive, Khalid al-Falih, was appointed by Saudi Arabia's King Salman as minister of energy, industry, and mineral resources. Al-Falih will relinquish his post as health minister, but remains chairman of Saudi Aramco. Al-Falih succeeds Ali al-Naimi, who guided Saudi Arabia's oil policy as minister for over two decades.

Schlaff joins Wood Group as chief procurement officer

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Schlaff

International energy services company Wood Group has appointed Raymond Schlaff to the positions of senior vice president and chief procurement officer, with responsibility for procurement strategies, processes and governance, and to drive efficiencies across the group's global supply chain. Schlaff has more than 30 years of procurement experience with industry leaders such as NALCO, Owens Illiniois, Tyco, GE and Dupont, working in the US, UK, Norway and the Netherlands and served most recently as senior vice president and group chief procurement officer for National Grid in London and Boston. Schlaff earned a bachelor's degree business administration from Arizona State University.

Southwestern Energy names Kehr chairman of the board

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Kehr

Southwestern Energy Co. has elected independent director Catherine A. Kehr as chairman of the board following the annual meeting of shareholders on May 17, 2016. Kehr has served as a director since 2011 and as presiding director since 2014, as chairman of the board's nominating and governance committee, and on its audit committee. Kehr retired in 2006 as a senior vice president and director of Capital Research Company, a division of The Capital Group Companies. From 1997 to 2006, she was an investment analyst and fund manager with responsibility for global energy equities for The Capital Group Companies. She received a bachelor's degree from Yale University and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Kerr succeeds Steve Mueller, who retires as a director at the meeting. Mueller formerly served as president and CEO of Southwestern and was named a director of the company in 2009. He was succeeded as CEO by Bill J. Way in January 2016, and has held the president title since December 2014.

EIC appoints Broadley as new CEO

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Broadley

The Energy Industries Council (EIC), a trade association for UK companies that supply goods and services to the energy industries worldwide, has appointed Stuart Broadley as its new CEO. Broadley brings over 20 years of global energy services experience to his new role, joining the EIC most recently from Hoerbiger where he served as global head of service for the compression technology division. Prior to his position at Hoerbiger, Stuart spent four years in the renewables sector in Hamburg, as President of Global Service for onshore and offshore wind turbine manufacturer REpower Systems. Broadley also spent 13 years at Wood Group in Aberdeen and Canada. Broadley succeeds Claire Miller.

Lee joins Blank Rome as partner

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Lee

Sophia Lee has joined Blank Rome LLP as a partner in the Energy, Environment, and Mass Torts practice group. Lee will be based in the firm's Philadelphia office, where, earlier in her career, she served as an associate. Prior to rejoining Blank Rome, Lee was chief litigation counsel for Sunoco Inc., where she directed litigation strategy for a vast national portfolio of commercial, environmental, insurance, personal injury, products liability, and toxic tort matters. Lee received her JD and her LLM in Trial Advocacy from Temple University School of Law and her BA from Cornell University.

Cheniere Energy names Fusco president and CEO

Cheniere Energy Inc. has appointed Jack A. Fusco as president and CEO. Fusco succeeds Neal A. Shear, who has served as Cheniere's interim president and CEO since December 2015. Most recently, Fusco served as CEO and a member of the board of directors of Calpine Corp. from August 2008 to May 2014 and as executive chairman from May 2014 through May 11, 2016. He will continue to serve as a director on the board of Calpine. Fusco's has over 30 years of experience in the energy industry, beginning with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. upon graduation from California State University, Sacramento. He joined Goldman Sachs thirteen years later as a vice president with responsibility for commodity trading and marketing of wholesale electricity, a role that led to the creation of Orion Power Holdings, an independent power producer that Fusco helped found with backing from Goldman Sachs, where he served as president and CEO from 1998-2002. In 2004, he was asked to serve as chairman and CEO of Texas Genco LLC by a group of private institutional investors.

VAALCO CFO resigns

VAALCO Energy Inc.'s CFO, Don McCormack, resigned effective June 2, 2016. In a statement, the company noted the resignation was not related to any issues related to financial disclosures, accounting or legal matters. McCormack resigned to spend more time with his family and pursue other opportunities. The company's chief accounting officer and controller, as well as its vice president of strategic planning, marketing and treasurer will report to the CEO while the company conducts a search for a new CFO. VAALCO has engaged Russell Reynolds Associates to assist in the search process.

Rangeford Resources names new CEO

Texas-based Rangeford Resources Inc. has appointed Thomas E. Lindholm as CEO. Lindholm brings more than 33 years of experience as a senior corporate executive, as well as a seasoned investment and merchant banker. Lindholm has direct experience in the oil and gas industry working for the past seven years in Houston. Previously, Lindholm was executive vice president of Radiant Oil and Gas Inc. and consultant to several other oil and gas companies in Houston, Texas. In his banking career, Lindholm was managing director of Victory Partners LLC, a boutique investment banking firm in Dallas, Texas. He also served as executive vice president of KBK Capital Corp., a publicly traded specialty commercial finance company based in Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to KBK, Lindholm was senior vice president of Bank One NA. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Denver.

Martinez joins Opportune as managing director

Martin Martinez has joined Opportune LLP as a managing director in the firm's energy consulting practice. Martinez has over 24 years of experience in income tax accounting, compliance, research and planning activities. He has served clients in all sectors of the energy industry as well as the mining, engineering, construction, and manufacturing industries. Prior to joining Opportune, Martinez served as a partner at BDO where he delivered corporate tax consulting, tax compliance and tax accounting services to domestic and multinational public and private corporations. He also served clients in transaction support roles including tax planning and structuring, execution assistance and financial reporting of income taxes.

Legacy Reserves CEO named chairman

Midland, TX-based Legacy Reserves LP has appointed Paul T. Horne, president, CEO, and director, as the chairman of the board. Additionally, Kyle D. Vann, director, has been named as lead independent director of the board. Cary D. Brown, the former chairman of the board, continues to serve as a director. Horne is a founding member of Legacy's executive management team and was added to the board in December 2014. He has managed operations at Legacy and certain of its predecessor companies since 2000 until being named the president and CEO on March 1, 2015. Previously, he worked for Mobil E&P US Inc. Vann was appointed to the board on March 15, 2006 where he serves as the chairman of the board's compensation committee and as a member of the board's nominating, governance and conflicts committee. Brown has served as a member of the board, and had served as the chairman of the board, since Legacy's formation. Brown had also previously served as CEO from Legacy's formation until March 1, 2015.

Sharma to succeed retiring Peper as Apache corporate secretary

Cheri L. Peper, corporate secretary of Apache Corp., plans to retire effective Aug. 5, 2016, after nearly 23 years with the company. Beginning July 11, 2016, Rajesh "Raj" Sharma, currently assistant general counsel - governance, will assume the additional role of corporate secretary. Peper will act as assistant secretary to aid in the transition. Sharma joined Apache as corporate counsel in 2009 and was promoted to senior counsel in 2011 and assistant general counsel in 2014. Before joining Apache, he held positions of increasing responsibility at Mayer Brown LLP; Andrews Kurth LLP; and Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP. Sharma received his BBA in accounting, his Master in Professional Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin, and his JD, cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center. He was admitted to the bar in 2003. He is a certified public accountant.

Golar LNG makes organizational changes

LNG carrier owner and operator Golar LNG has made changes at the organizational level. Gary Smith has resigned his position as chief executive. Oscar Spieler, recently responsible for the development of the Hilli project, will replace Smith as CEO. Smith, who was also Golar's CEO between March 2006 and July 2009, was re-hired as a consultant in 2014. He was promoted to chief executive in January 2015. Spieler was also the company's chief executive between July 2009 and June 2011. He has work experience from Bergesen, DNV and 16 years in the John Fredriksen controlled Seatankers Group where he had several functions including chief executive of Frontline, Golar, Sea Production and Sea Lift. Doug Arnell, who was CEO of Golar until January 2015, remains as a senior advisor to the company. Arnell has held leadership roles at Enron and BG Group in addition to Golar. The board has engaged Krzysztof Zielicki to structure the cooperation with Schlumberger. Zielicki was formerly Global Head of M&A and strategy at Rosneft. He has a degree in quantum mechanics from the University of London and holds several post graduate diplomas. Prior to Rosneft, he spent 25 years at BP.

Braly elected to ExxonMobil board

Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholders elected Angela Braly to the company's board of directors. Braly is the former chairman, president and CEO of health insurance company WellPoint, now known as Anthem. With the election of Braly, the ExxonMobil board stands at 14 directors, 12 of whom are non-employee directors.Braly served as chairman of WellPoint from 2010 to 2012 and president and CEO of the company from 2007 to 2012. Prior to that, Braly held various senior executive positions at WellPoint including general counsel and chief public affairs officer. Braly previously served as president and CEO of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri and held the role of general counsel. She received a bachelor's degree in finance from Texas Tech University and a law degree from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.

Rangeford names Duncan president, COO

Rangeford Resources Inc. has appointed Marc L. Duncan as president and COO. He previously served as president and COO of Contango Oil and Gas and subsidiaries from 2005 until 2014. Duncan has over 35 years of energy industry experience. Aside from his domestic experience, Duncan worked and resided in Dubai, Ecuador, Africa, Indonesia, China, UK and Ukraine developing the assets with local government entities and foreign partners. He served as president and COO for USENCO International Inc. from 2000 to 2004 and with Hunt Oil Co. from 2004 to 2005. Currently, Duncan serves as the managing director of Four Horses LLC and Opal Petroleum Partners LLC. He is energy director and advisor for Cardinals Direction First Inc., and is on the Board of Advisors for EnergyFunders. He holds a MBA from the University of Dallas, a MEd from the University of North Texas, and a BS from Stephen F. Austin University.

ENERGY PLAYERS

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