Business Briefs

Charles R. Williamson, executive vice president of Chevron Corp., has announced his retirement effective Dec. 1. Williamson, who is also former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Unocal Corp. , obtained a master’s degree in geology from the University of Utah in 1972 and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1978. His 28-year career with Unocal started in research and culminated in being named CEO in 2001.

Alliance Wood Group Engineering, a subsidiary of John Wood Group PLC has named Scott Leitko vice president of engineering, reporting to the executive vice president of Alliance. Leitko brings more than 17 years of experience to this position, having most recently served as a member of the management staff for the offshore engineering unit of KBR, and has led engineering teams in various international-base project assignments. Leitko earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Houston, and is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas.

William T. Van Kleef has been elected to the Board of Directors of Noble Energy, Inc., bringing the number of directors to eight. Van Kleef, a certified public accountant, served in various financial and accounting positions with Dawson Oil from 1982 to 1991 before moving to Tesoro Corp., where he rose to the ranks of Executive VP and COO.

Geophysical information and service providerVeritas DGC Inc. has appointed Vincent M. Thielen as vice president of business development and Dennis S. Baldwin as vice president, corporate controller. Thielen’s prior positions within Veritas were corporate controller and Vice President, Corporate Controller. In his new role, he will focus on identifying new business opportunities. Baldwin, a certified public accountant with experience with major public accounting firms, joined Veritas in June 2005 and will serve as the company’s chief accounting officer.

Hercules Offshore, Inc., a jackup drilling and liftboat contractor in the Gulf of Mexico, has appointed three new officers. James Noe is now VP - General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary; Leslie Taylor is VP - Human Resources, and Johnny Vincent is VP-Corporate Controller. The positions are all newly created. Noe has over eight years experience in the oil and gas industry, and holds a Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University. Ms. Taylor has over 22 years of HR experience in the energy industry, working for companies such as Columbia Energy and El PasoCorp. Vincent has held various finance and operations positions with several companies including Tenneco Oil Exploration & Production, and is a CPA.

Alison B. Whiteley has joined Dominion Exploration and Production, Inc. , a wholly owned subsidiary of Dominion, in the newly-created position of Managing Director, Planning and Engineering. She is responsible for the management and direction of corporate engineering and business planning and development. Whiteley has more than 20 years of oil and gas experience. She is a registered professional engineer in Texas, and holds an MBA from the University of Houston with an emphasis in international business.

Companies

Aveva, a leading provider of engineering design and lifecycle solutions, has secured a contract to provideJ. Ray McDermottwith a collaboration portal that provides easy access to key engineering data. The portal, built on Aveva’s VNET architecture, will be used by over 300 J. Ray McDermott personnel to support work projects in the Middle East, most notably for Dubai offshore operations. The platform will allow project engineers to have web-based access to 3D design models, 2D design deliverables and all associated engineering documents that are core to the execution of the project.

Offshore drilling contractorTransocean Inc.has entered into agreements with an affiliate ofRoyal Dutch Petroleum (Shell)andChevron Corp.for the upgrade of two of Transocean’s Sedco 700-series semisubmersible rigs. Both Shell and Chevron have committed to firm three-year drilling contracts for the semisubmersibles, with the option to extend the contract terms to five years. The upgrade of one of Transocean’s existing vessels is expected to commence in early 2006 for Shell and by 2Q 2007 for Chevron. Both companies have the right to terminate their contracts if Transocean is unable to complete shipyard work on the vessels by February 2008 (Shell) and Dececember 2008 (Chevron). The cost of upgrading the vessels is $300 million each, and both vessels will have the capability to drill in water depths of 6,000 ft and greater. The two upgrades will increase Transocean’s high-specification floaters fleet to 34 units, with 30 of the units capable of operating in water depths of 4,500 ft and greater.

Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc., a leading fabricator of offshore drilling and production platforms and other structures, has through its subsidiary Gulf Island LLC.executed a contract to fabricate the topsides for the Blind Faith platform in the GoM. The platform is located in approximately 7,000 ft of water and is a partnership between Chevron and Kerr-McGee Corp. Gulf Island expects to begin fabrication in 1Q 2006 for delivery of the topsides in 2007. The company will use its existing facilities and labor in Houma, Louisiana to complete the project.

Tenaris has signed a global agreement with Schlumberger to provide tubular goods and services for projects managed by Schlumberger’s Integrated Project management (IPM) service. Under the agreement, Tenaris will supply high-grade tubular products and connections and services like string design and verification, pipe management, pipe running, casing and cementing accessories.

Performance Energy Services, LLC, a specialty provider of pipe fabrication, structural fabrication and offshore hook-ups, has opened a new offshore hook-up and fabrication facility in Ingleside, Texas. The yard includes a 5,000-sq ft pipe shop, equipped with rollout tables complete with jib crane assemblies, to facilitate the fabrication of process piping, skid assemblies and light structural construction. An 8,000-sq ft screened-off blast and paint area will also be available. Initially, 4 fully equipped hook-up crews will be available from the Ingleside facility.

Subsea engineering consultancy companyMCS has experienced significant growth in the GoM, where its services in the delivery of riser solutions for deepwater developments are in demand. This growth has come mainly in the form of new contract wins, including a contract with Atlantia Offshore Inc.to design record-breaking deep risers for the Independence Hub project. As a result of this growth, the Houston office has nearly doubled its operation staff and made two high level appointments in Jeff Measamer and Andy Westlake. Mr. Measamer has been appointed business development manager of MCS Houston to continue the company’s US expansion, while Mr. Westlake will join the company in a senior engineering role.

Tesco Corp.has purchased the assets ofTong SpecialtyandCheyenne Services. Both companies provide a range of tubular running and related services offshore in the GoM, including equipment and personnel for installing tubing and casing such as power tongs, pick-up/lay-down units and connection testing services for new well construction in work-over and re-entry operations. These assets will be combined with Tesco’s existing tubular services operations and will provide expansion opportunities for Tesco’s proprietary casing running service. The base locations of Tong Specialty and Cheyenne Services, as well as their additional service delivery capacity and client portfolios will provide Tesco with significant additional market access. Tesco’s combined price for these two all-cash acquisitions totals approximately $50 million.