Jaime Kammerzell •Gulf of Mexico Editor
People
Upstream engineering consultancy Altra Energy Ltd. of Aberdeen has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Steve Duvall and Irina Sokolova-Pirie. Duvall has joined Altra's board as international operations director, responsible for all work undertaken beyond the UK continental shelf. Sokolova-Pirie's responsibilities include relationship and network building within the domestic North Sea market, and negotiation and control of commercial contracts.
Transocean has named William G. Henderson vice president and controller. Henderson joins Transocean as a 25-year veteran of public accounting and corporate management positions.
Caledyne Ltd. has appointed Roland Van Dort as managing director. Previously with Weatherford Completion and Production Systems, Van Dort has specific responsibility for product sales and business development.
Wood Group Wireline Services, a subsidiary of John Wood Group PLC, has promoted Robert "Chuck" Crosby to vice president.
Joseph A. Christopher has been appointed regional supervisor for the Office of Leasing and Environment in the Gulf of Mexico Outer Region of the Minerals Management Service. His responsibilities include managing the region's leasing and adjudication program and its environmental assessment and studies programs.
Husky Energy president and chief executive John Lau plans to step down next year.
Knowledge Systems has named James Webster COO. Webster will lead the company's sales, marketing, and operating divisions.
Ocean Design Inc. (ODI), a subsea fiber optic and electrical connectivity company, has appointed John Flynn director of the D&C Sales and Marketing team reporting to Greg Scull, vice president. Steve O'Steen has joined ODI as director of the Fiber Optics Operations reporting to John Blattel, senior vice president operations. O'Steen is responsible for all the Fiber Optics Operations personnel at ODI.
Offshore Logistics Inc. CEO and President, George M. Small will retire later this year. Small was named CEO in May 2002 after holding the positions of president since 1997 and COO from 1999 to 2002.
The Peak Group has appointed Matt Abell performance engineering manager in the Houston office. Abell, who has been working in the Gulf of Mexico for the last three years, will work with various operators on an international scale to help implement performance management software, tools, and processes to improve well construction performance.
Friede & Goldman has named Robert W. Fogal Jr. to serve as vice president of marketing and business development.
Rowan Co. Inc. has elected CEO D.F. McNease to the added post of chairman. Bob Palmer, non-executive chairman of Rowan, was named Chairman Emeritus for life.
Stabil Drill has named Chip Olds as a new district manager and added Jody Carinhas to its sales team. Olds, based in Corpus Christi, Texas, will market new Stabil Drill products in addition to his management duties.
JP Kenny, the Wood Group subsidiary specializing in subsea and pipeline engineering, has appointed Alan Brackenridge to the position of president and COO of JP Kenny Inc. in Houston.
Companies
Wood Group Engineering and Production Facilities Holdings has acquired Deepwater Specialists Inc., a New Orleans-based company that provides facilities commissioning services to the deepwater oil and gas industry.
FMC Measurement Solutions is now doing business as Alliance Measurement Systems (AMS) in Houma, Louisiana, expanding its measurement systems capabilities. FMC Measurement Solutions provides gas and liquid measurement systems for energy customers worldwide. AMS adds experienced staff and a climate-controlled, metering system testing facility in Houma to FMC Measurement Solutions' existing systems capabilities.
Lime Rock Partners and SGAM/4D have purchased Serimer DASA and Serimer DASA North America from Stolt Offshore. Serimer DASA is the world leader for offshore automatic pipeline welding services and also provides onshore welding services. David Williams has assumed the position of chairman of the board. Alain Hersent remains the CEO of both Serimer DASA and Serimer DASA NA, while Bill Marhofer continues as president of Serimer DASA NA.
National Oil Co. of Libya has awarded Compagnie Generale de Geophysique the rights to perform a speculative multi-client program over the entire Libyan offshore. CGG expects to start operations in 2Q 2004 with a regional 2D seismic, gravimetric, and magnetic data acquisition program of 38,000 line km over all licensed and open acreage.
Landmark Graphics Corp., a wholly owned business unit of Halliburton, has been awarded a multi-million dollar, five-year technology and services agreement by Statoil. Landmark will provide solutions for prospect generation, field development planning as well as drilling and completions, giving Statoil access to industry leading integrated technologies and E&P workflows across their company.
The Peak Group has opened an office in Dubai. The Dubai office will offer well engineering and operations management services, as well as the provision of The Peak Group's performance management software to the upstream industry.
Paradigm, provider of advanced petroleum geoscience and drilling technologies, has acquired the assets of the Reservoir Technologies Division (RTD) of Core Laboratories NV. RTD is a provider of seismic data processing and depth imaging services to the E&P industry.
Noble Denton Holdings Ltd., an offshore and marine consulting engineering group, has acquired BOMEL Ltd., a specialist in high quality R&D, engineering and project management, health and safety, human and organizational factors, and business management consultancy for clients in the oil and gas, marine, construction, energy, transport, defense, and public sectors.
Canyon Offshore Inc. completed the burial of the Glider field flowline in Green Canyon block 248 for Shell Exploration and Production Co. The contract work scope included the trenching and backfill burial of the 6.63-in. Glider flowline.
MODEC Inc. has chosen FMC Technologies Inc. to design and supply a disconnectable turret mooring system for an FPSO that will be employed offshore Australia. The project's value to FMC Technologies is $50 million in revenue.
National-Oilwell Inc. and Varco International Inc. have signed a definitive merger agreement. Each company's board of directors unanimously approved the merger. National Oilwell will change its corporate name to National Oilwell Varco Inc. Pete Miller, chairman, president, and CEO of National Oilwell, will serve as president and CEO of the combined company. John Lauletta, chairman and CEO of Varco, will serve as chairman of the board of the combined company, which will consist of equal representation from each company. Joe Winkler, president and COO of Varco, will serve as the combined company's COO.
