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

PEOPLE

Iraq has appointed its oil minister, Ishan Ismael, to lead the Iraq National Oil Co.

TechnipFMC has named Arnaud Pieton president and CEO-elect of Technip Energies. Jonathan Landes has been appointed president of subsea. Additionally, Margareth Øvrum has been appointed to TechnipFMC’s board of directors.

Petrofac has announced that its current group CEO, Ayman Asfari, will step down at the end of 2020 to focus on his health, family and charity. He will be succeeded by Sami Iskander, effective Jan. 1, 2021.

Ring Energy Inc. has named Paul D. McKinney CEO and chairman of the board of directors.

Mads Nipper has been appointed CEO and group president of Ørsted, effective Jan. 1, 2021. He will replace Henrik Poulsen, who has resigned from his position but will remain in office until Dec. 31, 2020. To support a smooth transition, Poulsen will serve as special adviser to Nipper until Jan. 31, 2021.

Chrysaor has agreed to a reverse takeover of Premier Oil, the firms said Oct. 6, creating the British North Sea’s largest oil and gas producer. The deal, which will see Premier’s creditors paid $1.23 billion in cash, will fold one of the world’s oldest independent producers into a private-equity-backed group. The combined group, which will have a new name, will be run by Harbour CEO Linda Cook, while Chrysaor CEO Phil Kirk will be head of its European business. Current Premier CEO Tony Durrant will not have a role in the group.

Pablo Flores, CEO of Ecuador’s state-run oil company Petroecuador, has informed the board of directors of his intention to resign following the South American government’s plan to merge Petroecuador with Petroamazonas, another state-owned oil company focusing on upstream crude E&P in the Amazon region.

Tachyus, a provider of data-driven production optimization software to the oil and gas industry, has selected former vice president of customer success, Fernando Gutierrez, as CEO.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. has announced the promotions of Richard (“Rich”) P. Dealy to president and COO and Neal H. Shah to senior vice president and CFO, which Pioneer said are part of the Permian Basin shale producer’s goal to deliver long-term shareholder value. The changes, effective Jan. 1, 2021, also included the promotion of Elizabeth (“Beth”) A. McDonald to senior vice president of Permian strategic planning and field development and marketing.

Ted Williams has joined EnCore Permian as partner and COO.

Bristow Group Inc. has appointed Jennifer Whalen CFO and senior vice president.

David Schorlemer, CFO of Basic Energy Services Inc., has resigned to pursue other interests. Following Schorlemer’s resignation, the board has approved the appointment of Adam Hurley to serve as executive vice president, CFO, treasurer and secretary of the company.

Borr Drilling Ltd. has appointed Christoph Bausch as its new CFO, replacing Francis Millet.

Westwood Global Energy Group has appointed David Linden to the newly created role of head of energy transition. The announcement comes as the company commits to helping the energy industry successfully navigate decarbonization. Linden will be responsible for defining and implementing the company’s energy transition offering for the oil and gas, power and renewables sectors.

J+S Subsea has welcomed Phil Reid as its first managing director and Doug Sedge to its board as a nonexecutive director.

Marwell, the wellbore and completion specialist, has announced two new senior appointments: Øystein Eide and Petter Rommetvedt. Joining from Aker BP, Eide will lead the drilling and well construction segment. Joining from Perigon AS, Rommetvedt will head up the completion segment.

Sparrows Group has appointed Chris Bonetti to the newly created position of regional manager for Australia to drive the company’s growth in the country. Bonetti will be responsible for furthering the company’s diversification into the industrial market. He will also lead the business across the oil and gas and renewables markets in the region.

Danos has added Justin Gonce to its business development team as executive account manager for shale operations. Gonce will focus on developing a growth plan for Danos’ shale business across multiple service lines. He will support business development efforts in the Permian, Eagle Ford, Marcellus, Bakken and other shale basins across the U.S. Additionally, Melanie Hill has been appointed business development representative. She will support Gonce in his areas of focus developing Danos’ shale regions.

Quality Companies has appointed Iain Gault business development manager. Based in Houston, Gault will serve to grow the client base in the deepwater and international arenas and introduce an expanded range of the company’s services to the energy sector.

Neil Manfred has been named Airswift’s IT director.

ConocoPhillips has announced that its board of directors has elected Eric Mullins to serve as a board member. Mullins currently serves as co-CEO of Lime Rock Resources, a private-equity fund focused on acquiring and developing low-risk oil and gas properties.

Halliburton Labs has announced that its first advisory board members will be Reginald DesRoches, John Grotzinger and Walter Isaacson.

EOG Resources has appointed Michael T. Kerr to its board of directors.

COMPANIES

OMV has opened an Innovation & Technology Center in Gänserndorf in Lower Austria.

Siemens USA has launched an advanced microgrid research and demonstration laboratory at its U.S. Corporate Technology headquarters in Princeton, N.J. The living laboratory will validate the latest technologies to provide the market with a comprehensive blueprint of how microgrids can be flexibly operated in similar applications such as universities, office parks and industrial sites while reducing the adverse impacts of energy uncertainty.

Proserv Controls has formally unveiled two new facilities in Mussafah, Abu Dhabi, and Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, Scotland, as it seeks to expand its service support business.

Milestone Environmental Services LLC announced that the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division has approved the company’s permit for an oilfield waste slurry injection facility near Jal in Lea County, N.M.

AqualisBraemar has opened its first office in Russia, based in Moscow, to further enhance the group’s service offering in the Russian energy, marine and loss adjusting markets.

The Ion has announced Chevron as its first leased occupant. The Ion, formerly the Sears Building in midtown, will anchor the 16-acre Innovation District with the goal to become the epicenter for Houston’s innovation ecosystem focusing on quality collaborations among entrepreneurs, incubators, accelerators, corporations and the academic community. It is scheduled to open in 2021.

Stress Engineering Services Inc. has launched its new Digital Solutions Group to reduce energy industry clients’ costs and manage risks through digital technologies.

Bristow Group Inc. will rename its Aeróleo Division in Brazil to Bristow and remain focused on its support of the oil and gas industry and other vertical lift solutions.

Devon Energy and WPX Energy have entered into an agreement to combine in an all-stock merger of equals transaction. The combined company will be named Devon Energy. The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

Chevron Corp. completed its acquisition of Noble Energy Inc. on Oct. 5.

ConocoPhillips and Concho Resources announced on Oct. 19 that they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine companies in an all-stock transaction valued at $9.7 billion. The transaction is expected to close in first-quarter 2021.

NTS Group has acquired Amega West Services from Carpenter Technology Corp. Amega is a provider of manufacture, repair and rental of legacy and specialized drilling equipment used in offshore and land-based oil and gas extraction applications.

Weir Group Plc has agreed to sell its oil and gas division to U.S. heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. for $405 million in cash, as the engineering company focuses on its mining business. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, and Weir said it would help strengthen its balance sheet for future investments.

C-Innovation LLC, an affiliate of Edison Chouest Offshore and its family of companies, has acquired the controlling interest in Caltex Oil Tools, a provider of equipment rentals, services and customized engineering capabilities to the offshore industry.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has announced the launch of AIQ, its Artificial Intelligence (AI) joint venture company with Group 42, an AI and cloud computing company.

Quorum Software has acquired Landdox, an innovator in cloud-first land technology.

Rockwell Automation has acquired Oylo, a privately held industrial cybersecurity services provider based in Barcelona, Spain.

LR Energy has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Energy business unit to Inspirit Capital, a London-based investment firm focused on building long-term value.