People in the industry

Upon departure of Weatherford International’s chairman of the board, president and CEO, the company has promoted Robert Rayne from vice chairman to chairman of the board. Additionally, Krishna Shivram will serve as interim CEO, until a new CEO is named. Shivram also will continue his duties as CFO.

Eric S. Jacobsen has been named senior V.P. of operations at Extraction Oil & Gas. Prior to joining the company, Jacobsen served in a number of senior leadership roles at Noble Energy. Most recently, he served as director of planning and development for Noble’s DJ basin business unit. Jacobsen brings 23 years of industry experience to his new position.

Mark Hunt has been promoted to a newly-created position at SIMMONS EDECO. As operations manager, Hunt will oversee the development of operations initiatives at the company’s European base in Great Yarmouth, England. He brings 31 years of industry experience to his new role, with a comprehensive background in operations, project management and mechanical engineering. Hunt joined the company in 2003.

Kevin Bain has been appointed to the board of Pressure Test Solutions. Previously, Bain served as operations manager. He will now serve as the Aberdeen-based firm’s operations director, as well as a shareholder in the business.

Jon R. Murphy has joined Delmar Systems’ global business development team. With more than 30 years of industry experience, Murphy will help develop the company’s relationships with new and existing clients. He will be based in Houston. Prior to joining Delmar, Murphy served as director of marketing and contracts at Noble Drilling Corp. subsidiaries.

An inaugural CFO has been named at Quadrant Energy. Ian Purdy brings more than 20 years of finance experience to his new role, and will oversee all of the company’s financial processes. He will report directly to the CEO, Brett Darley. Previously, Purdy held positions in the mining, minerals processing and engineering sectors.

ValvTechnologies, Inc. has appointed Herman Benard, Jr., as director of manufacturing. Based in Houston, Benard will manage the company’s manufacturing groups, focusing on production, quality, safety and customer satisfaction. He brings nearly 20 years of manufacturing experience to his new position.

Sanchez Energy Corp. has appointed Howard Thill as executive V.P. and CFO. In his new role, Thill will manage the company’s financial reporting, accounting, treasury, tax and communications functions, as well as the development of investor relations and financial strategies. Prior to joining Sanchez, Thill served as senior V.P. of communications and investor relations at Devon Energy.

AGR, an energy services and software company, has appointed Tore Øian to head its Well Management business in Norway. With more than 20 years of industry experience, with companies including Statoil and Det norske, Øian will work to further advance the company’s position on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. He will be based in Stavanger.

West Texas Resources has named William A. Sawyer president, CEO and a member of the board of directors. Sawyer was a founder of Lucas Energy, as well as president, CEO and board member of that firm. He brings more than 39 years of industry experience, as a businessman, petroleum engineer and operations manager. He replaces J. D. Kerr as CEO. Kerr will continue as the company’s CFO. He has been with the company since its founding in 2010. Previously, Kerr served as V.P. of Newport Capital Consultants, and a member of Petro Resources’ (now Magnum Hunter Resources) board of directors.

Tethys Petroleum Limited has named William P. Wells as its new chairman of the board. He replaces Alexander Abramov. Kenneth J. May, who was appointed interim CEO in August, will take on the role permanently. In addition, Mattias Sjoborg was added to the company’s board of directors. After a management buy-out in 2011, Sjoborg led company growth at Plena Group, amassing cross-border transactions and government privatizations in emerging markets. He has been with the firm since 2001.

Helge Flesland has been appointed to manage the Mission Critical Systems Group at Global Maritime Consultancy & Engineering. He brings more than 25 years of HSE safety experience to his new role, where he will further develop the company’s mission critical systems, including crane, marine operations and dynamic positioning. Previously, Flesland held various positions with Lloyd’s Register Consulting. Additionally,  Imraan Bux has joined the firm as principal port engineer. He brings more than 20 years of maritime experience to his new role, including maritime project engineering, design and construction for major port and marine infrastructure. Bux will be based in London.

The 2016-2017 board and committee members have been announced for the Lafayette Chapter of the American Association of Drilling Engineers (AADE). The newly elected officers include Kristy Bonner, president, arrangements committee chairman, publicity committee chairman and website committee (Foster Marketing); Jerred Clark, first V.P. and programs (Petro Quest); Taylor Brazzel, second V.P. and membership committee chairman (Chalmers, Collins & Alwell); Jarrod Suire, secretary (Cardno PPI Quality and Asset Management); and Sharon Moore, treasurer, national board at-large representative and website committee (Halliburton Energy Services).

Gregory Rachal has been named president of Oilfield Helping Hands (OHH), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing assistance to oilfield workers in financial crisis. With extensive industry experience at companies including M-I SWACO and Halliburton, Rachal will make certain that the organization remains a key means of support for oilfield families in need.

Joan E. Dunne has been appointed to Painted Pony Petroleum’s board of directors. She brings more than 30 years of upstream industry experience to her new role. Dunne serves as director at Tundra Oil & Gas, as well as director of Sprott Resource Corp. She also serves on the board of directors for the Capital Markets Authority Implementation Organization. In addition, Dunne serves on two of CPA Canada’s committees. Previously, Dunne was V.P. of finance and CFO of True Energy Trust and Ionic Energy, and held senior financial positions with Petrorep Resources and Barrington Petroleum. Additionally, she was a founder, V.P. of finance and CFO at Painted Pony, before her retirement in 2013.

Suncor Energy has appointed Michael Creel to its board of directors, effective Jan. 1, 2017. Creel served as CEO and director of the general partner of Enterprise Products Partners from 2010 to 2015. Prior to that role, he was vice chairman at Epco, and executive V.P. and COO at DEP Holdings. Additionally, he served as president and CEO at EPE Holdings.