People in industry

Nick Wemyss joined Samson Canada, Ltd., as exploration VP. Samson Canada is the Canadian subsidiary of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Samson Investment Co.

Plains Resources Inc. appointed John T. Raymond executive VP and COO.

Hensley Industries, Inc., named Gary M. Jones sales and marketing VP.

Cameron Division of Cooper Cameron Corp. named Hal J. Goldie subsea systems VP; Edward E. Will, marketing VP; Mark E. Crews as technology VP; J. Gilbert Nance, drilling VP; and Harold E. Conway VP and general manger, Eastern Hemisphere. Richard D. White joined the firm as subsea R&D manager.

Pogo Producing Co. appointed Michael J. Killelea VP and general counsel.

OneOffshore, Inc., promoted David M. Bichard, former marine managing editor of ODS-Petrodata Group in Aberdeen to associate publisher.

Stewart & Stevenson Services, Inc. elected Dr. Robert S. Sullivan chairman of its board of directors.

Craig W. Gordy joined Paragon Engineering Services, Inc., as manager of safety engineering services.

Richard G. "Gus" Zepernick, Jr., resigned from Forest Oil Corp.

Santos Ltd. appointed Kathleen (Kathy) Hogenson as general manager and president of its U.S. subsidiary (Santos USA Corp.)

The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission elected its 2002 officers at its Midyear Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. The new chairman will be Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, succeeding Tony Knowles of Alaska. North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven will serve as chairman-elect, and will become chairman in 2003. Philip Asprodites, Louisiana Commissioner of Conservation and IOGCC second VP, will become vice chairman. Russell J. Harding, director of the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality will be the new second vice chairman. The new officers will assume their duties during the 2001 Annual Meeting, Dec. 9 – 11 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

CMS Energy Corp. elected David G. Mengebier senior VP of governmental and public affairs, succeeding the retiring John W. Clark.

Groppe, Long & Littell appointed Anthony F. Bahr as senior analyst.

Bill Flores, Jr., senior VP of Ocean Energy, Inc., was named public relations chairman for this year’s Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition.

Carl Evans joined Vanco Energy as joint ventures VP. Khalid Ghozlani joined as country coordinator, serving as liaison between the Houston office and African field offices. Noreen Miggins Gottschalk joined as offshore Africa operations contracts administrator.

Keith Jordan joined Contour Energy as exploration and land VP, responsible for all aspects of exploration, development reservoir acquisitions.

Erik Kros and Raymond Kerkvliet, the technical director and general sales manager, respectively, of Gouda, Netherlands-based pipe laying and handling equipment company SAS, have taken over the firm in the wake of the retirement of former owner Peter Engelman.

Mallon Resources Corp. has promoted Donald M. Erickson, Jr., from operations VP to senior VP and general manager of Mallon Oil Co.

The first female president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Robbie Rice Gries, will also assume leadership of the Executive Committee for 2001 – 2002. Daniel L. Smith was voted president-elect and will serve as president for 2002 – 2003.

NuTec Sciences’ Michael Keehan, current president and CEO of the firm since its start in 1995, is now assuming the role of chairman.

BJ Process and Pipeline Services appointed Victor de la Rosa operations manager in Venezuela.

Gaurdie Banister, Jr., was named business development and technology VP for Shell Exploration & Development. He will be responsible for new business development opportunities, acquisitions, implementation of new technologies and strategic planning.

Canyon Offshore appointed Nigel Wilmott to ROV manager, based in Aberdeen. Dave Medeiros was appointed special projects manager.

Domingo Bulus was appointed president of Praxair, Asia in Singapore. Bulus will assume responsibility for the firm’s operations and ventures in China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand .

The UK’s former Foreign Office Minister Brian Wilson was named the UK’s new energy minister. He is replacing Peter Hain, who was named minister for Europe.

Deaths

William A. (Bud) Nestlerode, Sr., 78, died in Houston on June 22, 2001. Following WWII service in the Navy, he served 32 years in the Naval Reserve, including duty as commanding officer of the Houston, Texas, Naval Reserve center.

In the oil field, he held patents for such things as a "slimhole sentry system," to gauge pressure and gather test fluids in old wells that were being re-entered or in those that were particularly deep. He was among the first to negotiate oil equipment trade with Russia and China. Industry memberships included NOMADS, SPE, AIME and US/China Friendship Association.

Bill Rintoul, 79, a noted oil industry writer, died June 26 in Bakersfield, California. Born in Taft, he earned a journalism degree from UC Berkeley, then enlisted in the U.S. Army during WWII. Serving in the infantry in Europe, he was one of the first to cross the Rhine River into Germany and earned the Bronze Star for liberating Ordhuf, the concentration camp.

Following a year of traveling after the war, he became a roustabout with Standard Oil in Taft, California. He then earned a master’s degree in journalism from Stanford University. He began his career covering Delano, California, for The Californian, but moved to Bakersfield after a year to cover the oil industry. His four books, Spudding In, Oildorado, Roustabouts and Drilling Ahead, are said to be the most authoritative on California oil. He was president of the Pacific Section of AAPG, and was a popular speaker for industry associations, including API, SPE, D&D, AAOPE, DOG and NOMADS.