Meijer (left), Carey (right) and Hughes (middle)

CRC-Evans has appointed Douglas McIntyre as CEO. The company has also appointed Adam Wynne Hughes as MD of the company’s Inspection Group. Hughes, who served as IPLOCA president from 2009-2010, joins CRC-Evans when the PIH Field Joint Coating division and Inspection Group form one of the business units within CRC under the leadership of Phil Bond, the current IPLOCA director for NW Europe. Hughes will work with Carl Vincent, senior VP at Pipeline Induction Heat Ltd., to develop a wider range of services while maintaining the individual market area disciplines.

Nautronix has appointed David Cassie as director of strategy. Cassie will consult on a part-time basis to promote Nautronix and its technology in subsea positioning and communication. His focus will be on raising the awareness of the NASNet positioning systems. He also will devote time to aid the management team to grow new business and to expand internationally.

SeeByte has added Pedro Patron, Joerg Baumgartl, and Sorin Suciu to its engineering staff.

Farquhar

Fugro Gravity & Magnetic Services has appointed Emily Farquhar as president.

CSL has appointed Charlie Hughes as projects manager.

Total has appointed Patrick Pouyanne as deputy general manager of the chemicals division and deputy general manager of petrochemicals. The company has also appointed Olivier Cleret de Langavant as senior VP of strategy, business development, and R&D in exploration and production; Isabelle Gaildraud as senior VP of finance and information systems in addition to her current role as senior VP of HR and internal communication in exploration and production; Marc Blaizot as senior VP of exploration; and Pierre Bang as senior VP of operations in exploration and senior VP delegate for the scientific and technical center in Pau, France.

Fluor Corp. has appointed David T. Seaton as CEO and company director. He succeeds Alan L. Boeckmann, who is retiring. Boeckmann will continue to serve as non-executive chairman of the board of directors.

SBM Offshore has appointed Bruno Chabas as COO and a director of the company’s board of management. The company has also named Jean-Philippe Laurès chief commercial officer and a director.

Pridden

National Subsea Research Institute (NSRI) has appointed David Pridden as CEO.

 Solomon Associates has promoted Stephen Wright to VP of Europe and Middle East operations effective April 1. He also will serve as MD of Solomon Associates Ltd., the company’s UK entity. Wright succeeds Lawrence (Lawrie) Anness, who retires after a four-decade career that includes 21 years with Solomon Associates.

Day

First Subsea has appointed Phil Day as sales manager for North and South America. Day will be responsible for developing the market for First Subsea’s growing range of subsea connectors used in deepwater mooring, diverless, and ROV-less riser and umbilical connections, and other offshore applications.

Miller

Emerson Process Management has appointed Chuck Miller as global director of sales and marketing. He will be responsible for strategic planning, organizational development, sales, and marketing leadership of value added technology solutions within the oil and gas business unit.

Geoimage has appointed Wayne Middleton as CEO. Middleton will be based in Geoimage’s Brisbane office, where he will be involved in new business opportunities as well as managing the company’s day-to-day operations.

AWE has appointed Bruce Clement as MD. He replaces Bruce Wood, who has retired.

McCrometer has appointed Ray Loo as regional sales manager for Southeast Asia.

Prospectiuni has appointed Andrew Clark as VP for business development, marketing, and strategy. In his new role, Clark will identify and negotiate new markets and opportunities for the company’s geophysical and geological services. The company has also named Tim Branch as VP of international operations.

Trapp

CHC Helicopter has appointed Duncan Trapp as director of safety and quality for its European operations. Trapp will be based in the company’s Aberdeen office.

McNichol		Wensel

Mustang has named Michele McNichol as president of its upstream operations. McNichol has oversight of worldwide upstream operations with offices in London, Houston, Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, Saudi Arabia, Angola, Aberdeen, and Kuala Lumpur. Eric Wensel has been named upstream regional director – Americas.

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has appointed Andy Woolgar, VP - group projects and operations at Subsea 7, as president. In addition Woolgar becomes chairman of the association’s overall management committee (OMC). Massimo Fontolan, VP Commercial North Atlantic for Saipem, takes over as VP.

Chevron Corp. has appointed James Blackwell as executive VP, technology and services. The company has named Rhonda Zygocki executive VP, policy and planning; Steve Green, VP, policy, government, and public affairs; Wes Lohec, VP, health, environment, and safety; and, Chuck Taylor, VP, strategic planning. The company has also named Guy Hollingsworth as VP, production and James (Jay) Johnson as president, Chevron Eurasia, Europe, and Middle East Exploration and Production Co. Melody Meyer will become president, Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production Co.

L&N (Scotland) has appointed Craig Finnie as operations director and Mike McArtney as business development director. Finnie has been with L&N for nine years, most recently as operations manager, and will have responsibility for all operational matters. McArtney will focus on business development in the North Sea sector and international markets.

Williams has appointed Phil Wright as senior VP of corporate development. Randy Barnard will succeed Wright as head of the company’s gas pipeline business.

Plant

Fugro Multi Client Services has appointed Lucy Plant as international marketing manager. Plant comes to Fugro Multi Client Services from Fugro Robertson, where she was business development manager for the Americas for the past three years.

ABS has named Todd Grove as chief technology officer. John McDonald, currently regional VP, Northern Europe and Africa, will succeed Grove as president and COO of the ABS Europe Division. John Gallagher, currently regional VP, North America, will transfer to London and assume the position of regional VP, Northern Europe. Thomas Blenk, currently VP of global operations, ABS Nautical Systems (NS) Division, will transfer to New York City and replace Gallagher. Demetri Stroubakis, currently regional VP, Eastern Europe, will transfer to Houston and replace Blenk. Vassilios Kroustallis, currently country manager for Greece, will replace Stroubakis. Christos Nomikos, currently principal surveyor for Greece, will replace Kroustallis. 

Stirling		Nelson

Mustang has appointed Gordon Stirling as regional director for Europe, North Africa, Middle East, India, and Russia. The company has also named Chet Nelson as regional director for Asia/Pacific. The regional directors will facilitate and direct business activities for all markets served by Mustang, providing for efficient and coordinated operations across all of the company’s business units.

Atwood Oceanics Inc. has appointed Arthur M. Polhamus as VP of Operations.

Qatar has appointed Mohammed Saleh al-Sada as its new energy minister. Al-Sada has been MD of state-owned RasGas, which has a partnership with ExxonMobil. He replaces Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, who remains deputy prime minister.

W&T Offshore has appointed Jesus G. Melendrez as senior VP and chief commercial officer.

Transocean has appointed Nick Deeming as senior VP, general counsel, and assistant corporate secretary. Eric B. Brown, currently in that role, will transition to the company’s Houston office, primarily leading the company’s Macondo litigation.

Bahamas Petroleum has named Dr. Paul Crevello CEO. He replaces Alan Burns, who will remain as non-executive chairman of the company.

ERM has appointed Maximo Hernandez as global oil and gas managing partner. Hernandez will develop and lead ERM’s strategies in oil and gas and support consultants as they advise major clients on the impacts and alternatives resulting from the rapidly changing environment.

Company News

Baker Hughes has opened a new drill bit manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia. The facility consolidates all the manufacturing processes for polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bits in Saudi Arabia. At full capacity, the facility will employ approximately 80 people.

American Pollution Control Corp. (AMPOL) has moved to an expanded nine-acre location in New Iberia, Louisiana. The facility houses 150,000 sq ft (13,935 sq m) of warehouse space, a training facility, an operations center, a state-of-the-art lab, a fully equipped maintenance shop, and administrative offices. The facility also features a 10-bay truck dock allowing for more efficient loading of emergency response equipment.

Reservoir Group (RG) has expanded its operations in the US after forming an alliance with The Mudlogging Co. (TMC), a Houston-based company specializing in surface logging services. TMC joins Reservoir Group’s RG Geo business unit which will focus on formation evaluation. TMC owners George Drewry, Ron Lato, and Doug Kneis will continue to manage the company and assist in RG Geo’s development.

Tritex NDT has appointed Jack Vilas & Associates Inc, based in Morgan City, Louisiana, as a new distributor in the US to help promote and support the sale of its Multigauge ultrasonic thickness gauges..

National Training Institute (NTI) is to form a joint venture in Saudi Arabia with Saudi oil and gas construction company Mohammad Al Mojil Group (MMG) . The company says that through the new venture, it will provide state-of-the-art vocational training solutions tailored to the health, safety, and environment needs and technical standards of oil and gas service companies. MMG, which employs over 23,000 personnel, has over 50 years’ experience in the construction industry, while NTI – a subsidiary of Oman-based Renaissance Services SAOG – brings 25 years’ experience in education and training.

Ensco Plc and Pride International Inc. have entered a merger agreement. Ensco will combine with Pride in a cash and stock transaction at the end of which Pride will hold 38% of Ensco’s outstanding shares. The estimated combined value is $16 billion. The transaction will result in the second largest offshore driller with 74 rigs.

Specialist Subsea Services has acquired Caledonian Geotech. Specialist Subsea provides ROV and survey services. Caledonian Geotech is a geosciences consultancy.

HB Rentals has been awarded a six-month, $2.5-million contract to provide accommodations, auxiliary equipment, and communication systems for five barges working along the Gulf Coast. The accommodations include complete living quarter packages consisting of sleepers, galleys, diners, offices, recreation rooms, and utility buildings as well as power generation, sewage, potable water and communication systems.

Saudi Aramco has completed its new Upstream Professional Development Center (UPDC). The facility in Dhahran will house an updated integrated training program for the company’s upstream personnel.

Paradigm scheduled the opening of a new office in the Oslo, Norway, business district of Skoyen for Feb. 15, 2011. The new office will help the company provide local sales and support services for its seismic imaging, interpretation, reservoir modeling and characterization, and data management solutions.

GE has completed its $3 billion acquisition of Dresser Inc. Dresser has 6,300 employees worldwide and delivers compression, flow technology, measurement, and distribution infrastructure and services to customers in more than 150 countries. The Dresser businesses will be integrated into GE’s Energy Services and power and water business units.

Chevron Australia has awarded ICON Engineering a $5.5-million contract to build a compensated tension lift frame (CTLF) for use during the upcoming drilling and completion program for the Gorgon Project.

Aker Solutions has sold principal operations within its process and construction business area to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Jacobs). The transaction does not include the US EPC center in Houston or the Union Construction in the US and Canada, which will all be part of the new Aker Contractors company. Aker Solutions retains Aker Projects (Shanghai) Co. until such time as the requisite regulatory clearances in China have been obtained. With the sale of these businesses to Jacobs and the transfer of the Union Construction and EPC Center US operations to the new Aker Contractors company, Aker Solutions’ P&C business area has now been dissolved.