Mark Lewis, Kirk Morgan join energy practice of Bracewell & Giuliani

Law firm Bracewell & Giuliani LLP has hired Mark Lewis and Kirk Morgan, both formerly of Paul Hastings, to join the firm's Washington, D.C. office as partners in its energy practice. Lewis focuses his practice on midstream oil and gas pipeline development projects. He provides legal counsel in contract negotiations involving operating, transportation, and gas purchase and sale agreements and advises on regulatory aspects of contract/tariff and rate matters before the FERC and other agencies. Morgan represents oil and gas producers and marketers; gas pipeline developers, owners, operators, investors, and gas distributors. He advises on regulatory aspects of transactional, compliance, and enforcement matters before the FERC and other agencies. He also advises on obtaining certificates and authorizations for interstate pipelines and storage facilities, as well as non–judicial facilities.

LewisMorgan

Anadarko promotes Walker to president, COO

Walker

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has promoted Al Walker to president and COO. Jim Hackett, formerly chairman, president and CEO, will remain as chairman and CEO. Walker has more than 25 years of experience in the energy industry. He joined Anadarko in 2005 as senior vice president, finance and CFO. Walker's energy background also includes extensive experience in finance and other executive leadership roles.

Xtreme names Wurtele CFO

Dallas–based Xtreme Oil & Gas Inc. has appointed Roger Wurtele as the company's new CFO. Wurtele has served as the CFO of several public and private companies. He graduated from the University of Nebraska and has 40 years of experience as a CPA. Wurtele replaces Fred Schiemann who has served as CFO since 2007. Schiemann will continue to work with the company as a consultant.

Energy, project finance partner Kelley joins Pillsbury

KelleyJay Kelley has joined the Energy & Infrastructure Project practice as a partner in the Houston office of law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Previously at Vinson & Elkins, Kelley's practice encompasses a wide variety of finance and commercial matters, with an emphasis on the energy industry. Kelley has worked on various projects involving oil and gas (including LNG), power, and petrochemicals, and has nearly two decades of experience in the LNG business. He has nearly 25 years of practice experience and has worked on a wide variety of commercial and financial transactions throughout the world. He earned his bachelor's degree from The University of Texas, and his JD from University of Houston Law Center.

Newman succeeds Long as Transocean CEO

NewmanSteven L. Newman has been promoted to CEO of offshore drilling contractor Transocean Ltd. He succeeds Robert L. Long who has retired from the CEO post and from his position as a company director. Newman is up for election as a company director. Newman has served as president and COO since May 2008. He previously served in various senior management roles, including executive vice president of performance; executive vice president and COO; senior vice president of human resources, information process solutions, and treasury; and vice president of performance and technology.

Kim Pizzingrilli joins energy section of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney

PizzingrilliKim Pizzingrilli, former Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner, joined Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC as a government relations professional in its Energy & Utility Law Section. Pizzingrilli was nominated by Governors Tom Ridge, Mark Schweiker, and Edward G. Rendell and was unanimously confirmed by the state Senate and sworn in three consecutive times to finish an expiring term and to serve two terms as commissioner. She has more than 28 years of state government experience with a particular focus on government regulation, public interest, consumer protection, and economic development. Pizzingrilli served on the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Natural Gas Committee and as the Pennsylvania representative on the Mid–Atlantic Distributed Resource Initiative Steering Committee and the Midwest Demand Response Initiative Steering Committee.

Walen to retire as Sr. VP, COO of Cabot Oil & Gas

Houston–based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. will see its senior vice president and COO, Michael B. Walen, retire on May 1, 2010. Walen has been an employee of Cabot Oil & Gas for nearly 23 years and has lived and worked in all of the company's producing regions. He started in the company's Denver office as a geologist before moving to Pittsburgh as exploration manager and then to Houston. He became an officer in 1998 while running the Gulf Coast regional office, was promoted in February 2001 to senior vice president, exploration and production in charge of all regions and became COO in February 2006. He holds a bachelor's degree from Central Washington University and a master's degree from Western Washington University.

Warr joins Houston officeof Weaver as senior manager

WarrColby B. Warr has joined accounting firm Weaver as a senior manager for assurance services in the firm's Houston office. Warr has 10 years of experience in PricewaterhouseCoopers' energy assurance practice, where he served small and large oil and gas companies. His practice concentration is in financial statement audits and reviews, due diligence, and agreed–upon–procedures. Warr earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University.

BofA Merrill Lynch names Brown managing director of energy investment banking

Oscar Brown has joined Bank of America Merrill Lynch as managing director of energy investment banking and head of the Houston investment banking office. He joins from Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers in Houston where he spent the past 10 years, most recently as managing director of the company's energy group. He was a member of the firm's Senior Client Council, a group of the top 25 bankers globally that advised senior management on strategy and execution. Brown received a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas.

Executive VP James to leave Chevron

Charles A. James, executive vice president at Chevron Corp., will leave the company May 2, 2010. James, who intends to retire from the active practice of law, will join the adjunct faculty of the law school at Arizona State University and pursue other charitable ventures. This move is part of a planned transition under which James led the recruitment of his successor, R. Hewitt Pate, vice president and general counsel. Pate joined the company in August 2009 and has reported to James during this transition period. Prior to joining Chevron, James was assistant attorney general in charge of the Antitrust Division at the US Department of Justice. He also practiced law at Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue in Washington, D.C., and served in the first Bush administration as deputy and acting assistant attorney general.

Canadian oil company Brownstone welcomesnew president, COO

Brownstone Ventures, a Canadian–based oil and gas exploration company with projects in the US, Canada, Brazil, India and Argentina, has named Jonathan Schroeder president, COO, and a director. He was most recently the director, oil and gas operations for Vangold Resources Ltd. Previously, Schroeder was the president and founder of two private oil and gas companies, Gladius Energy Inc. and Carrack Energy Inc., both of which he developed from concept to production and eventual sale. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Calgary. Schroeder will head Brownstone's new Calgary office. As part of its plans for 2010, Brownstone anticipates changing its name to Brownstone Energy Inc., subject to shareholder approval. Along with his appointment, pursuant to Brownstone's stock option plan and subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval, the board has granted him 500,000 stock options, exercisable at $0.65 per share for a term of up to five years. The options will vest quarterly over a period of 18 months.

Capital One Bank taps Gleason for energy investment banking post

Capital One Bank has named Monte Gleason managing director of technical services in the energy investment banking group. Based in Houston, Gleason provides technical support and business input for oil and gas lending opportunities, capital market transactions, and potential mergers and acquisitions of client companies. He has more than 40 years of experience in the industry. He most recently worked for six years in the global banking and markets group of Royal Bank of Scotland. Before that, he worked in the energy finance group at Deutche Bank. Gleason holds a bachelor's degree from Kansas State University and a juris doctor from the University of Denver College of Law.

Stover to retire executive VP post at Endeavour

Bruce H. Stover, executive vice president of business development and new ventures at Endeavour International Corp. has retired. He continues his association as a consultant on strategic business development activities. Stover has 40 years of experience in executive and technical positions in the oil and gas exploration and production industry. He joined the company in 2004 and had served as a member of the company's executive committee. He was also assigned to Endeavour's London office as head of operations and business development. He assumed oversight for business development and new ventures in 2008.

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