April 2016, Vol. 243, No. 4
General
Company & Association News
Association News
Low domestic natural gas prices led to savings of almost $69 billion for residential natural gas customers over the past four years, according to the American Gas Association’s 2016 American Gas Association Playbook. Filled with new data and detailed graphics, this handbook can be accessed online at www/aga.org/playbook. For hard copies, visit shamm@aga.org.
The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers named John Tintera, a consultant with the Alliance since 2012, executive vice president, Government Relations. Other changes saw James M. Wortham hired as director, Member Services for North Texas; Gloria Leal named general counsel; and Bill Stevens, chief lobbyist. All four are based in Austin, TX.
The Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance named Suzanne Bertin as executive director.
The Society of Petroleum Engineers in Aberdeen, Scotland, elected Ian Phillips, CEO of the Oil and Gas Innovation Center, as its new chairman.
Personnel Changes
Navigator Energy Services, LLC named Mark Hafner vice president of Commercial Operations. Based in Midland, TX, he will lead business development efforts in the Permian Basin.
MPG Pipeline Contractors added Neal Jinkerson and Jeramie Pinter as project managers.
NGL Energy Partners LP appointed Robert W. (Trey) Karlovich III as executive vice president and CFO.
Stone Bridge Energy Partners LLC added industry veterans John Hopper, Tim Sullivan and Ashok Gupta to support development of its expanding downstream and non-traditional midstream energy infrastructure projects.
ConocoPhillips announced the retirement of Jeff Sheets, executive vice president, Finance and CFO at ConocoPhillips, after 35 years of service. In conjunction with Sheets’ retirement are the following leadership changes: Don Wallette, Jr., executive vice president, Commercial, Business Development and Corporate Planning, was named executive vice president, Finance, Commercial and CFO; Al Hirshberg, executive vice president, Technology and Projects, was named executive vice president, Production, Drilling and Project; and Matt Fox, executive vice president, Exploration and Production, was named executive vice president, Strategy, Exploration and Technology.
Edward Harseim joined Hyundai Construction Equipment Americas Midwest district as sales manager. He will support dealers throughout a 14-state territory, ranging from North Dakota to Tennessee.
BP named Lamar McKay to the new position of deputy group chief executive. McKay, chief executive of BP’s Upstream segment and a 35-year BP veteran, will be based in London. He will be succeeded by Bernard Looney, currently COO, production, in the Upstream segment.
NDT Global named Andy Bain as COO. Over the last four years, he has been an ILI consultant on behalf of oil and gas majors, delivering inspection solutions for deep subsea systems.
Todd Story joined STV as vice president and operations manager in the Energy Services Division. He will oversee operations in Denver and Bismarck, ND and lead expansion in the Rocky Mountain region.
Morgan Lewis added Kirstin Gibbs, a lawyer with a wide-ranging background in the oil and gas industry, to its energy team.
Company News, Mergers & Acquisitions
Don Poarch and Joe Swinbank, co-founders of the Sprint Companies, have acquired A&B Valve and Piping Systems, LLC. Under the leadership of Poarch and Swinbank, A&B Valve and Piping Systems will build on its current offerings to further serve the needs of the energy industry.
Since 1972, A&B Valve and Piping Systems has been a leading supplier of pipe, valve, fittings (PVF) and more to the oil and gas, petrochemical, power and other industrial industries. A&B Valve and Piping Systems will continue to operate under the same name moving forward, with daily operations directed by Bruce Bilger, Gideon Hixon and James Spearman.
Polyguard Products, Inc. has purchased a 380,000 square-foot facility in Corsicana, TX with plans to expand its manufacturing plant. Polyguard plans to increase its production capabilities and the new building, which more than doubles current building assets, is in line with Polyguard’s long-term plans.
TransCanada Corp. expanded its 60-year presence in Québec with a larger corporate provincial office in Montréal. The office will be home to over 40 employees from different disciplines working on the Energy East Pipeline Project and other businesses on behalf of the company.
Ditch Witch®, a Charles Machine Works Company, presented Graham Rutter of Ditch Witch Australia with the 2015 Lowell Highfill Annual Award as the top individual salesperson in the global Ditch Witch organization. Graham began working for the company in 1983.
In other news, Subsite® Electronics, also a Charles Machine Works Company, recognized Ditch Witch Midwest with the Top Volume Electronics Dealer Award and the Top TK Conversion Salesman Award at the 2016 Ditch Witch Dealer Conferences. Ditch Witch Midwest salesman Scott Geller was also awarded the Top TK Conversion Salesman Award. This award recognizes the salesman with the most 2015 TK HDD guidance system conversions (trade-ins).
TRC Companies, Inc. and the Tulsa Regional Chamber hosted an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome the Willbros Professional Services staff to the TRC family and to introduce the newly expanded company to the greater Tulsa community. TRC acquired the professional services business segment of Willbros last year. The new TRC business unit, Pipeline Services, positions TRC as a leading provider of end-to-end solutions in the power and oil and gas markets.
Smith Flow Control named Hughes Machinery of Lenexa, KS as its new distributor for its line of valve interlocks and valve management systems to customers in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa.
Wood Group entered an agreement with D’Arcinoff Group to provide engineering oversight and technical services for the West Texas Renewable and Gas Monetization project, an integrated 30,000-bpd syngas-to-liquids facility. The facility will produce jet fuels and be located in Hudspeth County, east of El Paso.
Centurion Midstream Group LLC opened an office in downtown Houston that will house the commercial, business development and operations staff.
Ritchie Bros.’ first Canadian auction of the year attracted 13,100 bidders from 47 countries. Over 7,300 items were sold for US$89 million, making it the company’s largest February auction ever in Edmonton. The company’s Fort Worth auction, held March 2-3, set a new state record for the company. Over US$57 million of equipment was sold, including US$27 million sold to online bidders.
H&E Equipment Services Inc. has relocated its Albuquerque, NM branch to a new facility at 3801 Prince St., Albuquerque, NM 87105. The company also has a new branch at 49 Artley Road, Savannah, GA 31408.
Obituary
Cherie Levien, wife of Larry Levien, Counsel for the Pipe Line Contractors Association, Washington, DC, died Feb. 2 after a long illness. Services were held in Clarksburg, MD.
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