[Editor's note: This article originally appeared in the October issue of E&P Plus. Subscribe to the digital publication here.] 

PEOPLE

Weatherford International Plc has selected Girish K. Saligram, previously COO at Exterran Corp., as its next president and CEO. Saligram’s appointment, which includes a seat on the Weatherford board, takes effect Oct. 12. The top position has been vacant since early June following the resignation of former CEO Mark A. McCollum.

Hurricane Energy Plc has appointed Antony Maris CEO and executive director.

Lundin Energy AB has named Nick Walker president and CEO, following Alex Schneiter’s decision to step down from the position. This will become effective Jan. 1, 2021. Walker has been COO of Lundin Energy since 2015. Daniel Fitzgerald has been appointed COO, effective Jan. 1. Fitzgerald is currently COO of International Petroleum Corp.

Ithaca Energy Ltd. has appointed Bill Dunnett CEO, taking over the role from his predecessor Les Thomas.

Scientific Drilling International (SDI) has named Pamela S. Pierce its CEO and president, a position she has held on an interim basis since May. Pierce joined SDI’s board of directors in June 2011 and was lead director for the past year. She will continue to serve as a member of the board of directors.

SeekOps Inc., a developer of advanced sensor technology for the energy sector, has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Iain Cooper as CEO.

Abrado, a provider of downhole milling tools, has selected Jason Broussard as president and CEO. He will be based at the company’s office in Broussard, La. With two decades of experience in upstream well operations, Broussard joins Abrado from Wellbore Fishing & Rental Tools, where he was senior vice president of operations. Prior to that, he held several management positions at Schlumberger (four years) and Baker Hughes (11 years).

Penn Virginia Corp. announced the concurrent retirement of John A. Brooks and appointment of Darrin J. Henke as president, CEO and director of the company.

Whiting Petroleum Corp. has appointed Lynn Peterson CEO, effective as of the company’s anticipated emergence from chapter 11, which is projected to occur on Sept. 1. Peterson succeeds Bradley J. Holly, who will resign effective at that time to pursue other interests following the company’s restructuring. Peterson will also join the company’s board of directors.

International Petroleum Corp. has named William Lundin COO, effective Dec. 1.

Brian Cothran has joined Venture Global LNG Inc. as COO.

Quantum Energy Partners tapped Sebastian T. Gass from Chevron Corp. to lead the private-equity firm’s digital transformation as CTO.

Battalion Oil Corp. has appointed Kevin Andrews executive vice president, CFO and treasurer, replacing Ragan Altizer, who plans to retire from the oil and gas industry.

Francesco Gattei has taken up the role of CFO at Eni. Gattei is tasked with supporting the CEO in developing and implementing Eni’s economic and financial strategy during the phase of accelerating the company’s decarbonization plan.

Blueknight Energy Partners LP has appointed Matthew R. Lewis CFO.

Matthew DeNezza has joined Crusoe Energy Systems Inc. as CFO.

PBEX Resources LLC, a privately held oil and gas operating company, has promoted Tom Taccia to president.

Bryan Milton, president of Exxon Mobil Fuels & Lubricants, retired Sept. The board of directors has appointed Ian Carr president of Exxon Mobil Fuels & Lubricants Co. and elected him as vice president of Exxon Mobil Corp.

Sercel-GRC has named William H. ‘Willie’ Milne vice president, major accounts and operations. Milne will also be appointed to the Sercel-GRC Strategic Leadership Team. Based in Tulsa, Okla., Milne will be responsible for growing relationships with U.S. domestic oilfield service companies and developing new business with clients in the artificial lift sector. He will also oversee the sales administration and customer service departments.

ChampionX Corp. has appointed Byron Pope to the newly created role of vice president of ESG and investor relations.

Jōb Industrial Services, an engineering, procurement and construction company serving the oil and gas industry, has promoted Steve Hermansen to vice president of engineering and Lisa Tyree to vice president of sales and marketing.

GoExpedi, an e-commerce, supply chain and analytics company, has named Noel Connolly senior vice president of digital strategy.

The Plaza Group, an international petrochemical marketing firm, has promoted Jose Flores to executive vice president.

BCCK Holding Co., a provider of in engineering, procurement, fabrication and field construction services, has appointed Thai Pham, P.E. senior process engineer. Pham will be located in BCCK’s office in The Woodlands, Texas, and will be responsible for supporting proposals and technology developments across the company.

WAGO has promoted Clayton Windsor to product manager of DIN rail mount terminal blocks.

Total Lubricants USA Inc. has appointed two new additions to its sales team: John Neucere as the new district sales manager and Zachary Wells as the technical sales representative.

Sparrows Group has appointed Ali Hassan Al-Kharari as the company’s first Saudi Arabia general manager.

Renewable Energy Group Inc. has hired Trisha Conley to serve as vice president of people development.

International SOS has appointed Carolyn Taylor as head of mental health, resilience and wellbeing to strengthen its expertise in this field, which is an increasing issue for the offshore energy workforce.

GeoPark Ltd. has appointed Somit Varma a new independent member of the board of directors, filling an existing vacancy.

Flotek Industries Inc. has welcomed Harsha V. Agadi to its board of directors. He will also serve as the chair of the compensation committee.

GEOSPACE Technologies’ Michael J. Sheen, senior vice president, CTO and executive director, will retire from the board of directors, effective February 2021. Additionally, William H. Moody (Hank) retired from the board of directors Sept. 30, and Charles H. Still (Hank) retired from the board of directors June 30. With these changes, the board will be downsizing and will eliminate the director seats held by Still and Moody. Thomas L. Davis will replace Still as the lead independent director.

Rolake Akinkugbe-Filani and Robert Erlich have joined the African Energy Chamber’s advisory board for 2020 and 2021. Akinkugbe-Filani will be advising and supporting the African Energy Chamber within its investment and energy transition committees. Erlich will be advising and supporting the work within the exploration committee.

Flowserve Corp.’s board of directors has elected Carlyn Taylor as an independent director and a member of the Audit Committee and the Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee of the board.

The board of directors of New Jersey Resources, a provider of natural gas and clean energy services, has elected Susan Hardwick to the board. Hardwick currently serves as executive vice president and CFO of American Water.

Xcel Energy has elected Patricia L. Kampling as a new board member.

IHS Markit has appointed Gay Huey Evans OBE an independent director to its board. She will also join the company’s audit committee.

McDermott International Inc. has tapped Andrew F. Gould, the former head of Schlumberger Ltd., to serve on its board
of directors.

COMPANIES

Schlumberger New Energy, a new Schlumberger business, and Thermal Energy Partners have entered into an agreement to create STEP Energy, a geothermal project development company. STEP Energy will leverage its partners’ expertise to develop efficient and profitable geothermal power generation projects, providing an opportunity to support a reliable supply of clean energy.

Kemper Valve & Fittings (a Caterpillar company) has introduced a mobile command center that can operate from a customer’s site, providing the benefits of reduced downtime, quality work and lower operator safety risks. Kemper’s command center is equipped with lifting devices, power generation, compressed air and a closed-loop recirculation system.

Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, a subsidiary of Occidental, and Rusheen Capital Management, a private-equity firm, have formed a development company, 1PointFive, to finance and deploy Carbon Engineering’s large-scale direct air capture technology.

Baker Hughes Co. agreed to sell the surface pressure control flow business unit in its oilfield equipment segment to Pelican Energy Partners LP for an undisclosed amount on Sept. 10. The sale follows comments CEO Lorenzo Simonelli made recently about downsizing Baker Hughes’ oilfield services and equipment portfolio in preparation for the energy industry’s transition to a low-carbon future.

BP Plc agreed on Sept. 10 to acquire $1.1 billion in interests in existing U.S. offshore wind developments from Norway’s Equinor ASA. The acquisition marks BP’s entry into offshore wind and follows a new strategy that sees the British oil major accelerating its shift away from fossil fuels to achieve its ambitions of net-zero emissions by 2050.