People in the Industry
John Loiacono, director of commercial services at Enbridge Energy Company, has been elected chairman of the Texas Pipeline Association (TPA). With more than 27 years of industry experience, he manages business fundamentals related to Enbridge’s U.S. gas gathering and processing services division. Previously, he served as V.P. and director of commercial activity. Prior to joining Enbridge, Loiacono was an asset optimizer at Midcoast Energy and senior asset manager at MCNIC Pipeline & Processing Company. Additionally, he has held a number of positions at Delhi Gas Pipeline Corp., Santa Fe Minerals and Texas Oil & Gas Corp.
Glenn S. Benson has joined the national energy industry team at BakerHostetler, in Washington, D.C. He reportedly brings more than 20 years of experience representing oil and gas producers, midstream companies, local gas distribution companies, and electric utilities and generators. Throughout his career, Benson has litigated contract disputes, counseled on regulatory matters, and negotiated various commercial agreements.
Petro Mychalkiw has been appointed to the board of Cabot Energy as a non-executive director. He is a chartered accountant with more than 12 years of industry experience. Previously, Mychalkiw served as CFO at Oriel Resources, Equus Petroleum, Orsu Metals Corp. and, most recently, I-Pulse, Inc.
Eric Houston has been appointed as the environmental impact assessment (EIA) manager at Xodus Group. As an experienced principal consultant and project manager, Houston will be based at the company’s Edinburgh, Scotland, office. He previously served as an offshore client representative at BP. Most recently, however, he worked in the marine cables sector at Intertek.
Liam Warren has been hired as operations manager at Rovco, a subsea services company. With more than 15 years of industry experience, he will support the delivery of complex ROV and survey projects, worldwide. Warren joins the company from Costain, where he served as a construction package manager. He also worked previously as an operations manager at GE Tidal. Additionally, he held a number of various positions at Subsea 7.
Simmons Edeco has named Gavin Sherwood as base manager in Denmark. In his new role, he will lead operations, marketing and financial management of the company’s new base in Esbjerg, Denmark. He brings 28 years of experience in well service engineering, operations and management to his new position. Sherwood previously served as business development manager at the company’s European headquarters in Great Yarmouth. Prior to joining the company, he held a number of well engineering positions with two major UK operators.
National law firm Quarles & Brady LLP has hired Sherina Maye Edwards in its Energy, Environment & Natural Resource Practice Group. As partner, she reportedly will focus her practice on electric reliability, water, natural gas and critical infrastructure issues. Prior to joining the firm, Edwards served a five-year term on the Illinois Commerce Commission. Additionally, in 2016, she was appointed co-chair of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Voluntary Information-Sharing System Working Group by former President Obama and the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
Harry Quarls has announced that he will retire from his positions as executive chairman and director of Penn Virginia, a South Texas independent E&P company. Concurrently, the company has appointed David Greenberg and Michael Hanna as new independent board members, expanding the board of directors from five members to seven. Following Quarls’ retirement, however, the board will be reduced to six members. Quarls reportedly will continue to provide consulting services through the end of the year.
Steven V. Torello has joined the energy practice of Wilkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. As partner, he will represent energy-focused private equity funds forming platform companies focused on building upstream, oilfield service and midstream businesses. He joins the firm from DLA Piper, where he served as partner.
Apache Corp. has named W. Mark Meyer as senior V.P. of energy technology strategies. In his new role, Meyer will lead the company’s worldwide energy technology strategies team. He joins the company from Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., where he was head of securities and research. Prior to that, Meyer was president of RR Advisors and a co-founder and portfolio manager of many of its upstream investment strategies. He also served previously as senior portfolio manager at CastleArk Management, and as lead E&P research analyst at Simmons & Co. and Goldman Sachs. Additionally, he has held a number of technical positions with Exxon, Chevron and Union Texas Petroleum.
Christian Blinkenberg has been appointed general manager at J2 Subsea in Aberdeen. With more than 15 years of industry experience, he brings abundant knowledge of the oil and gas sector to his new role. Throughout his career, Blinkenberg has worked in various regions around the world, including the UK, the U.S., Brazil and Nordic regions.
After opening its first office in Egypt, Xodus Group has appointed its general manager. Salah Farid Tantawy joins the company from PICO Petroleum Integrated Services, where he served as project general manager for the Amal-C platform. He also served previously as V.P. for projects at Gulf of Suez Petroelum (GUPCO), a BP joint venture. Overall, Tantawy brings 37 years of industry experience to his new role.
Ecosse Subsea Systems (ESS) has hired its first engineering manager. With a background in subsea engineering, installation and decommissioning, Mark Brown will be a strong addition to the company’s management team. He joins the company from subsea technology firm PDi, where he was operations manager. He also has held a number of technical positions at TAQA Bratani, Maersk Oil and Subsea 7. The company also has hired business development expert Andy Readyhough. Prior to his appointment, Readyhough held senior management positions at Global Marine Systems and DeepOcean UK. He brings more than 35 years of offshore experience to his new role.
Following completion of a subscription with High Power Petroleum (H2P), Cabot Energy has appointed Petro Mychalkiw to its board as a non-executive director. With more than 28 years of experience as a chartered accountant and more than 12 years of experience in the natural resources industry, Mychalkiw has an extensive understanding of project financing. Most recently, he served as CFO at I-Pulse Inc. He also served previously as CFO at Oriel Resources, Equus Petroleum and Orsu Metals Corp.
Shale Support Holdings, LLC, has named Lee Hullman as V.P. of business development. Most recently, Hullman reportedly held positions of leadership related to business development in Texas and Oklahoma, with a substantial focus in oil and gas.
