Energy Players

WPX Energy has named Richard E. (Rick) Muncrief as the company's next president and CEO. He also joins the WPX board. Muncrief is a petroleum engineer who has more than 30 years of upstream and midstream energy experience, most recently as senior vice president of operations and resource development at Continental Resources where he oversaw corporate engineering, reservoir development, drilling, production operations and supply chain management. He received a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering technology from Oklahoma State University. James J. Bender, who has been serving as WPX president, CEO and board member on an interim basis since December 2013, plans to retire upon completing the transition of his duties to Muncrief. Bender previously was the general counsel and a senior vice president at WPX following its spinoff from Williams in early 2012.

Paragon Offshore names Manz CFO

Noble Corp. plc has named Steven A. Manz to the position of senior vice president and CFO of Paragon Offshore Ltd., the standard specification offshore drilling company to be created upon separation from Noble. He will report to Randall "Randy" Stilley who was named in February to serve as CEO and president of Paragon. Manz has more than 25 years of experience in the offshore drilling and financial services industries. Most recently Manz served at Prospector Offshore Drilling SA, Seahawk Drilling Inc. and Hercules Offshore Inc., where he held the position of CFO of each company. He holds a BBA in finance from the University of Texas at Austin. In addition, Noble appointed Luis A. Jimenez as vice president - administration for Paragon.

Foulkes named Chair of TPH Canada

Energy advisory firm Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. has opened an office in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and named Hilary Foulkes chair of Tudor, Pickering Holt & Co. Securities – Canada. Foulkes previously served as COO for Penn West Exploration and as a managing director for Scotia Waterous.

Gulfport names New CEO, COO

Gulfport Energy Corp. has promoted Michael G. Moore to CEO and J. Ross Kirtley has been promoted to COO. In addition, Michael S. Reddin has been appointed to the company's board of directors. Moore, formerly served as interim CEO and CFO. He has also been appointed to the company's board of directors. Moore joined Gulfport in July 2000 as its CFO and was appointed president of the company in August 2013. Kirtley, formerly COO for the company's Ohio activities, has been promoted to COO. He joined Gulfport in May 2013. Reddin currently serves as the chairman, president and CEO of Davis Petroleum Corp.

Rowan Elects CEO

Rowan Companies plc has elected Dr. Thomas P. Burke as CEO. In addition, H.E. Lentz retired as the chairman of the board of directors, W. Matt Ralls was appointed as the executive chairman of the board and Sir Graham Hearne was appointed as the new Lead Director of the Board. Dr. Burke most recently served as president and COO of the company. Dr. Burke initially joined the company in December 2009 to serve as president and CEO of LeTourneau Technologies Inc. and served in such capacity until the sale of LeTourneau in June 2011. He holds a DPhil (PhD) in engineering science from Trinity College, Oxford and an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School.

Crow joins Opportune

Bill Crow has joined Opportune LLP as managing director in the firm's energy consulting practice. Crow's corporate tax career spans over 20 years and includes tenure as in-house tax counsel for Shell Oil Company and as manager/partner for national and Big 4 tax consulting firms where he served as a senior member of national SALT energy practices. He is a graduate of the University of Houston Law Center and member of the Texas Bar.

Cairn India CEO Resigns

Cairn India Ltd.'s interim CEO and whole time director, P Elango, has resigned his position for personal reasons. Sudhir Mathur, CFO, has taken over the additional responsibility of leading the organization in the interim. Tom Albanese, CEO Vedanta Resources plc and Mike Yeager, chairman, Operations Review Board, Cairn India, will continue to work with the leadership team in managing the business under the guidance of the Board. Elango was associated with the company for nearly 18 years.

Williams joins Pinsent Masons

International legal firm Pinsent Masons has appointed a new partner who specializes in employment law relating to shipping and marine matters. Katie Williams advises oil and gas companies engaged in offshore supply, construction, diving, drilling and well intervention, and shipping companies providing safety and standby vessels. Aberdeen-based Williams also acts for a number of large vessel operators which operate in international markets and are involved in complex legal solutions over multiple jurisdictions. Williams was previously an employment Partner in legal firm Mackinnons and prior to that she spent nine years working as an employment law specialist in The Hague and London.

Kelly joins Bridger as CFO

Bridger LLC, an integrated crude oil marketing and midstream logistics company based in Dallas, Texas, has named Patrick Kelly to the executive management team as executive vice president and CFO. Patrick comes to Bridger from Gavilon LLC, where he served as CFO of Gavilon's energy segment, which included an integrated crude oil marketing and logistics business.

Whiting President CEO to Retire

Whiting Petroleum Corp. has announced the retirement of James T. Brown, Whiting's president and COO, effective June 17. Brown joined Whiting in 1995 as a consulting engineer and subsequently served as operations manager, vice president of operations, and senior vice president of operations. In January 2011, he was elected president and COO. Effective June 17, Whiting also announced the promotion of Rick Ross to senior vice president of operations from his current role of vice president of operations. Also effective June 17, Whiting has promoted Pete Hagist to senior vice president of planning from vice president of Permian operations. James J. Volker, Whiting's chairman and CEO, will assume the additional position of president, effective June 17. These officers will collectively assume responsibility for the duties previously overseen by Brown.

Consol Taps New CEO

CONSOL Energy Inc. reports that Nicholas J. DeIuliis has assumed the role of president and CEO. Former CEO J. Brett Harvey has taken on a new position as executive chairman. In addition, DeIuliis was elected to CONSOL Energy's board of directors. DeIuliis has served as president of CONSOL Energy since February 2011. He has over 23 years of experience with the company, with both the coal and E&P divisions of the business, and in that time has held positions of COO and senior vice president of strategic planning. He was also president and CEO of CNX Gas Corp.

Taylor joins Athabasca Oil as VP

Matthew Taylor has joined Athabasca Oil Corp. as vice president capital markets & communications. Taylor most recently served as director of energy equity research at National Bank. Taylor holds bachelor's degree with a specialization in finance from the University of British Columbia. Andre De Leebeeck, who previously served as vice president, investor relations & communications, has assumed the role of vice president, corporate projects.

Approach names Datla as CAO

Approach Resources Inc. has promoted Uma L. Datla to the role of chief accounting officer. Datla joined Approach in August 2013 as director of financial reporting. Previously, she was with Ernst & Young LLP, where she last worked as an audit manager, and served a wide range of oil and gas industry clients. Datla holds a Bachelor of Science and Technology Development degree from Birla University of Technology and Science in Pilani, India, and a Master of Professional Accounting degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is also a certified public accountant in Texas.

Robeck joins Kelley Drye & Warren

Mark Robeck has joined the energy practice of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP as a partner in the Washington, DC office. With nearly 25 years of experience in the energy sector, Robeck joins Kelley Drye from Baker Botts, where he served as co-chair of that firm's energy litigation practice group. He regularly counsels domestic and international oil and gas producers and marketers, coal producers, wholesale power generators and regulated gas and electric utilities.