People in the industry

OMV Aktiengesellschaft has appointed Rainer Seele as CEO and chairman of the executive board. Seele will take over the position, on July 1, 2015, for a three-year period, with an extension option for two more years. Gerhard Roiss, the current chairman of the executive board and CEO, will resign from these positions on June 30.

George L. Kirkland, vice chairman and executive V.P of Chevron’s upstream division, will retire from the company, effective June 15. He will be succeeded by James W. (Jay) Johnson, as executive V.P., Upstream. Kirkland joined Chevron in 1974. He was named executive V.P., Upstream, in 2005, and was elected vice chairman in 2010. He has held numerous assignments across the company’s worldwide operations, including leadership roles in Indonesia and Nigeria.

Deep Sea Supply’s board of directors has appointed Jon Are Gummedal as CEO. Gummedal has worked with Deep Sea Supply as the technical director since January 2014. Prior to this, Gummedal held a position as technical director in Wilson ASA, managing a fleet of 86 vessels.

S. Hepkema, L. Mulliez and C. Richard have been named as members of the supervisory board for SBM Offshore. In addition, P. Barril was appointed member of the management board and COO. E. Lagendijk was appointed to the management board, and F. Cremers has taken over the role of supervisory board chairman. 

Barry Smitherman has joined Vinson & Elkins as a partner in the firm’s Energy Regulatory practice. Smitherman is a former chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC), and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). Smitherman will practice law in the firm’s Austin office, and will advise energy industry clients on state and federal regulatory matters. Smitherman is the only person in Texas history to have served on both the RRC and the PUCT.

Sterling Energy has appointed Eskil Jersing as a company director and CEO. Jersing’s 30-year career has involved roles in exploration, new ventures, strategy planning and business development. Alastair Beardsall, Sterling’s interim CEO, will continue to serve as executive chairman.

Mario Mehren has been named president of BASF’s oil and gas division, effective July 1. In this function, he will head BASF’s subsidiary, Wintershall. Mehren is a member of Wintershall’s executive board of directors, responsible for E&P activity in Russia, North Africa and South America. He succeeds Rainer Seele.

The board of directors at T.D. Williamson (TDW) has elected Robert D. McGrew to the position of president and CEO. McGrew was previously TDW’s V.P. and CFO, a position that he has held since he joined the company in 1999. He holds a BS degree in accounting from Oklahoma State University.

Bobby Bryan has been named CEO of Schramm. Bryan had been serving as acting CEO of the West Chester, Pa.-based company. He joined Schramm in July 2014, after a 20-year career at National Oilwell Varco, where he was, most recently, V.P. of business development for the company’s Land Rig Solutions Division.

The board of directors at National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) has elected Cindy B. Taylor as chair, and Kevin McEvoy as vice chairman, for the upcoming 2015-2016 term. Since 2007, Taylor has served as president and CEO of Oil States International. McEvoy has been CEO of Oceaneering International since 2011, and he also serves on the company’s board of directors.

Deloitte has appointed Andrew Slaughter as executive director for The Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions. Prior to joining Deloitte, Slaughter was V.P., Energy Insight, at IHS. Slaughter has worked at Shell Americas Exploration & Production Company, and was the leader of the Resource and Supply Task Group for the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s National Petroleum Council.

ABS has appointed Howard Fireman to senior V.P. and CTO. Fireman assumes this role following former senior V.P. and CTO Todd Grove’s appointment as ABS Group president and CEO. Fireman joined ABS in 2013 following a 35-year career with the U.S. Navy, where he was recognized as a leader in ship design, R&D and operational support.

Kash Kelloff has been appointed V.P. of operations for Buckhorn Energy Services. He will lead Buckhorn’s field operations and facilities providing solid waste disposal, saltwater disposal, and produced water gathering systems.

Nathan Clark has been named senior V.P. of perforating and technology, and Cameron Kirkpatrick has been named V.P. of U.S. sales, at GEODynamics. Clark has over 23 years of experience in the design and development of shaped charges, explosive devices and completion tools used in the oil and gas industry. Clark holds 21 U.S. patents, and has developed numerous perforating systems for Western Atlas/Baker Atlas and Halliburton.

Transocean has named Jeremy D. Thigpen as president and CEO, succeeding interim CEO Ian C. Strachan. Prior to joining Transocean, Thigpen spent his career in various roles at National Oilwell Varco, having most recently served as CFO. He was president of NOV’s Downhole and Pumping Solutions business from 2007 until 2012, and from 2003 to 2007, he served as president of NOV’s Downhole Tools group.

Houston American Energy has appointed John P. Boylan as chairman, CEO and president, and Roy Jageman has been named a company director. Boylan, a licensed CPA, has served as a director, and chair, of the audit and compensation committees of the company since 2006.

Cameron has appointed Justin Rounce to the newly created position of V.P., Marketing, and CTO. Rounce will be responsible for strategic marketing, communications and all aspects of R&D. Rounce joins Cameron from the OneSubsea joint venture, where he was V.P. of marketing and technology. Prior to OneSubsea, Rounce held a 27-year career with Schlumberger, culminating as V.P. and director for Schlumberger’s M&A division.

Nick Waller has joined Lundin Petroleum as senior V.P. of development and operations. Walker joins Lundin from Africa Oil Corp., where he has been COO since 2012. He has held various managerial, operational and commercial positions at Talisman Energy, Bow Valley and BP.

Ty Watson has been appointed president of Rose Petroleum US, LLC, and will head up Rose’s oil and gas operations. Watson will lead the development of Rose’s three onshore U.S. exploration, development and production projects. 

SandRidge Energy has appointed John Suter to the role of senior V.P. of production. Suter comes to SandRidge from American Energy Partners, where he served as V.P. of the Woodford business unit. He has held various roles at Chesapeake, Continental Resources, Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation and Petro-Lewis Corp. Suter earned a BS in petroleum engineering from Texas Tech University in 1982.