November 2009 Vol. 236 No. 11

Business Meetings & Events

November Association and Personnel News

Association News
Personnel Changes
Obituaries

Association News
Grady Bell, vice president of business development for Laney Directional Drilling Co., Humble, TX, discussed the state of horizontal directional drilling at the Oct. 5 meeting of the Pipeliners Association of Houston. While displaying pictures of noteworthy projects performed by contracting firms in the HDD business, Bell said the technology has changed rapidly to meet requirements of clients. He said the trend is toward longer HDD distances and larger pipe diameters.

Personnel News

Charles G. Lutz has joined Tulsa, OK-based Mathey Dearman Inc. as vice president – Africa, Asia, Australia, Latin America, Middle East, and New Zealand. He will support the company’s global expansion strategy.

Dave Latto has joined ROSEN USA as Area Manager. Latto has 18 years of pipeline experience including pre-commissioning, commissioning and inline inspection. His experience has been gained in various global locations with the last 10 years in North America primarily related to ILI services.

Deep Down, Inc.’s board of directors accepted the resignation of Robert E. Chamberlain Jr. as chairman of the board and chief acquisitions officer, effective Sept. 1. Chamberlain will continue to consult through 2010 on acquisitions and any other corporate matters as requested by management.

PG&E Corp. has elected Lewis Chew to its board as well as the board of its subsidiary, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Chew, 46, is senior vice president, Finance, and CFO of National Semiconductor Corporation in Santa Clara, CA.

The board of directors of Chevron Corp. elected John S. Watson, chairman of the board and CEO effective Dec. 31. Watson succeeds David J. O’Reilly, who will retire from the company and its board after a 41-year career, including 10 years as chairman and CEO.

The Chevron board also elected George L. Kirkland, 59, to be vice chairman of the board, succeeding Watson. As vice chairman and executive vice president of Upstream and Gas, Kirkland will retain responsibility for overseeing global exploration and production activities for crude oil and natural gas.

Houston-based Atwood Oceanics Inc. announced that John R. Irwin, CEO and president, and James M. Holland, CFO and senior vice president and secretary, plan to retire July 31, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2010, respectively, subject to confirmation of suitable successors.

GE Oil & Gas has appointed Vivek Venkatachalam as country leader for India. He will lead efforts to drive commercial growth in the region and expand the global turbomachinery market.

Western Gas Partners, LP announced that Donald R. Sinclair has joined the executive team of its general partner as president. Robert G. Gwin, who previously served as president, was named chairman of the board and will continue as CEO. Sinclair has joined the general partner’s board of directors and Al Walker, currently chairman of the board, will continue as a director.

Recent changes at Ecopetrol saw Hector Manosalva Rojas, a petroleum engineer, named as vice president of Production and Alvaro Castaneda Caro, a metallurgical engineer, as vice president of Transportation.

TDW Offshore Services AS named Helene Torjusen marketing manager.

PipeSak® USA, Inc. named Robin (Rocky) Seils as director of sales. He will be responsible for coordinating PipeSak’s sales and marketing efforts worldwide with a focus on the U.S. and Canada.

KS Energy Services has opened an office in Houston and hired Don Hawkins, former senior vice president at Transwestern Pipeline Energy, to assist with business development in the pipeline industry.

Obituaries
Loy Sterling Clark, 92, died July 8 at his home in Beaverton, OR, with his son, Ron, and daughter, Debra, by his side. A businessman who made his fortune without a college degree, Clark was a pioneer in the pipeline construction industry in Oregon.

Clark’s first job was for Thatson Brothers Construction, making 35 cents an hour in Bakersfield, AR. He joined Local 3 Union at 17 and was a member for more than 50 years. In 1956, Clark began the first pipeline construction company in Oregon, Loy Clark Pipeline, with 12 employees. At its peak, he employed more than 350 employees, including three generations of family members. In 1985, Ron took over the helm, enabling his father to spend more time with family members. In 1999, the firm was sold to MDU though Clark still went to the office daily until he retired in 2006.

Morris E. Carr, 70, of Baxter, TN, died June 12. His first pipeline job was with Houston Contracting in 1959. He also worked for H.C. Price, Reading and Bates, Associated Pipe Line Contractors, Gregory & Cook, Williams Brothers and several others. The last 17 years of his pipeline career were spent with Willbros International. Carr was a member of I.U.O.E. Local 917 in Chattanooga for 41 years. Condolences may be sent to the family at 322 Dyer Ridge Road, Baxter, TN 38544.

Gary D. Smith, co-chairman of the board of directors and co-CEO of Dril-Quip, Inc., died Sept. 23. He had the principal responsibility for sales, service, training and administration at the company.