People in the industry

Noble Energy’s board has elected David L. Stover as president and CEO, succeeding Charles D. Davidson, who will retire on May 1, 2015. Davidson will continue to serve as chairman until the annual meeting. Previously, Stover had been the company’s president and COO, and had served as executive VP and COO since August 2006. Before joining Noble, he was BP’s vice president and business unit leader for the Gulf of Mexico Shelf, from September 2000 to August 2002.

Greene’s Energy Group has named Robert Fraser as regional business development manager. Based in Dubai, Fraser will be responsible for business development initiatives within the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, and countries surrounding the Caspian Sea. He has more than 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. For more than 20 years, Fraser has worked with major service companies in a variety of senior management roles throughout Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia.

Effective at the conclusion of Royal Dutch Shell’s 2015 annual general meeting, Charles O. Holliday will become chairman, subject to his re-appointment as a director by company shareholders. Holliday will succeed Jorma Ollila, who will step down after the meeting, having served as chairman for nine years. Holliday was appointed as a non-executive director of the company in September 2010. He was CEO of DuPont from 1998 to 2009, and chairman from 1999 to 2009.

BG Group has appointed Helge Lund as chief executive and as an executive director, with effect from March 2, 2015. Lund is currently the CEO of Statoil. Prior to his 10 years as CEO of Statoil, Lund served as the CEO of Aker Kvaerner, and has served previously in the roles of deputy CEO and CFO at the pharmaceutical division of Hafslund Nycomed, an industrial conglomerate.

Helge Hove Haldorsen has become president of SPE. Haldorson is V.P. of Strategy and Portfolio for Statoil Development and Production North America. Prior to his tenure at Statoil, Haldorsen worked for Norsk Hydro in various roles, including chief reservoir engineer, V.P. of technology and competence, V.P. of exploration and research, senior V.P. of international exploration and production, and president of Hydro Gulf of Mexico.

Sanchez Energy has appointed Sean Maher to its board of directors. Maher will serve as an independent director and as co-chair of the audit committee. Maher is senior portfolio manager at RCH Energy, and has previously served in various analyst and leadership roles at Morgan Stanley.

Rowan Companies has appointed Stephen M. Butz executive V.P., CFO and treasurer. Butz joins the company after nine years at Hercules Offshore, where he was executive VP and CFO. Butz will take over from Kevin Bartol, whose resignation took effect on Nov. 30, 2014.

FMC Technologies has appointed Peter Oosterveer to its board of directors. Oosterveer is COO of Fluor Corporation, and as a 25-year Fluor veteran, Oosterveer has served as the group president of the energy and chemicals segment, and senior V.P. of its global chemicals and petrochemicals business. Oosterveer has also served as a board member for Infraspeed BV, which was involved in the design, construction, and maintenance, of The Netherlands High Speed Line project.

Ed S. Jacob III has been elected chairman of the IADC by its board of directors at the annual meeting in New Orleans. In addition, Jacob was recognized with the 2014 Contractor of the Year Award. Jacob began his career at Helmerich & Payne, holding positions of increasing responsibility for 13 years. He serves as a director of Independence Contract Drilling, and has served as its president and COO.

Walter Dale joins Bosque Systems to lead and grow its solutions division. Dale holds a BS in chemistry from Stephen F. Austin State University, and has completed executive business courses with GE, and IMD business schools in Switzerland. Dale was a general manager in the Canadian Oil Sands for GE Water and Process, and was a leader at Halliburton’s water solutions business. Dale also has served as a registered lobbyist for sustainable development initiatives of water in the oil and gas industry.

Tamboran Resources has named Dick Stoneburner and Fred Barrett to the company’s board of directors. Stoneburner, a former Petrohawk president, was a managing director at New York-based investment firm Pine Brook Partners. Barrett is the former CEO of Bill Barrett Corp.

Alfonso Leon has resigned as executive VP and CFO of Apache Corporation. Executive Vice President P. Anthony Lannie will serve as interim CFO, as the company conducts a search for a new, permanent CFO. Lannie served as president of Kinder Morgan Power Company and president of Coral Energy Canada, a subsidiary of Shell Oil Company.

Independence Contract Drilling has appointed J. Scott Thompson as senior VP of human resources and administration. Thompson brings more than 20 years of industry experience in the energy sector and human resources, with expertise in personnel.

Andy McDowell has been promoted to associate publisher of World Oil magazine. He was sales manager prior to this appointment, and was with Clear Channel Entertainment before joining Gulf Publishing Company. He is a graduate of Texas Christian University, and resides in Houston with his wife and two daughters.

Kurt Reinecke has been appointed COO of PetroTerra Corp. Since 2013, Reinecke was president of geologic and exploration service contractor Arrow. Reinecke was a founding member of Bill Barrett Corporation.

Jim Musselman has joined the board of directors of Glori Energy. Musselman is known for his work at Kosmos Energy, where he and his team discovered Jubilee Field, offshore Ghana, in 2007. Musselman will advise Glori, as it continues to acquire oil producing assets for the deployment of its AERO System technology.

Christophe de Margerie, CEO of Total, passed away when his corporate aircraft crashed on Oct. 20, after hitting a snowplow during its take-off roll from Vnukovo International Airport near Moscow. De Margerie ran the company’s E&P division before becoming CEO in 2007. He was appointed chairman in May 2010, and was a strong opponent of economic sanctions against Russia. In de Margerie’s absence, Patrick Pouyanné has been named CEO and president, while Philippe Sauquet replaces Pouyanné as refining and chemicals president.