May 2017, Vol. 244, No. 5

Company & Association News

Business News

Associations

HomeServe USA, a provider of home emergency repair service plans, is partnering with the American Public Gas Association to enable APGA’s more than 700 member companies to offer customers access to a suite of energy-related repair service programs, including  gas piping systems, water heaters and heating systems. The service plans offered through HomeServe will provide homeowners with coverage that protects them from the expense and inconvenience of home emergency repairs – helping to connect them with qualified local technicians. HomeServe plan holders also have access to a Repair Hotline. APGA members can learn about partnership opportunities with HomeServe at www.apga.org or from Len Mize at HomeServe at (484) 241-7285.

People in the News

Houston-based Plains All American (PAA) Pipeline announced several officer changes. Dave Duckett retired as CEO of Plains Midstream Canada (PMC) where he directed business strategy, business development and acquisitions for PAA’s Canadian business. Duckett joined PAA in 2001 as executive vice president of PMC in connection with the acquisition of CANPET Energy. He served as president of PMC from 2003 to 2015 and CEO from 2015 until retiring earlier this year. Phil Kramer retired as executive vice president with responsibility for U.S. lease gathering, human resources and supply chain management, a role that he held since 2008. Kramer joined PAA in 1983. Jim Fryfogle will retire as vice president, Bulk Supply & Logistics, in mid-year. He joined PAA in 2004 as managing director, Lease Acquisitions. Rick Jensen joined PMC in 2012, serving as executive vice president, Operations until retiring recently. David Craig joined PMC in 2008 and most recently was senior vice president, Corporate Development. He retired earlier this year.

Jason Balasch was promoted to president of PMC in anticipation of Duckett’s retirement and has assumed additional responsibilities held by Duckett. Balasch joined PMC in 2011. Jeremy Goebel was promoted to senior vice president, Acquisitions & Strategic Planning. He started with Plains in 2013 as managing director, Acquisitions & Strategic Planning. Roy Lamoreaux was promoted to the new role of vice president, Investor Relations & Communications. He joined PAA in 2006 and most recently served as director, Commercial Operations & Pipeline Business Development.

Terrance “Terry” McGill, former president of Enbridge Energy Partners, was appointed to San Francisco-based geospatial data analytic firm Enview’s board of advisors. McGill is a recently retired oil and gas executive with leadership roles at Northern Natural Gas, Enron, Columbia Pipeline Group, NiSource and Enbridge Energy. He spent over 40 years in the pipeline industry and has expertise in interstate transportation and gathering and processing.

Denver-based Berkana Resources, a provider of SCADA system integration, security, compliance and consulting, named Larry Stack to its advisory board. Stack’s 40 years of experience has focused on the design, development and deployment of SCADA and advanced operational applications for utilities and oil and gas pipeline industries worldwide. His most recent executive positions were at Telvent and Schneider Electric.

Global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has expanded its energy practice by hiring Jeffrey T. Relf, who joins the Corporate Performance Improvement practice in Houston as a managing director. A specialist in real-time pipeline control systems expertise, Relf has over 30 years of experience advising on supply chain management issues and challenges. He counsels organizations looking to operate in a low oil price environment and works with companies on the planning and execution of liquids and gas pipelines. Prior to joining A&M, Relf was an executive with BG Group and Accenture.

Chesapeake Utilities promoted James F. Moriarty from vice president to senior vice president of the corporation and its subsidiaries. Moriarty, who also serves as Chesapeake Utilities’ general counsel and corporate secretary, joined the Company in 2015.  He has over 25 years of experience representing leading companies on diverse energy projects. Previously, he was a partner at Locke Lord LLP and Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP, both international law firms with offices in Washington, D.C.

RigNet appointed Trent J. Jabbia vice president of North America Sales. He has over 18 years of experience in the upstream oilfield services sector. Prior to joining RigNet in 2005, Jabbia worked as a senior technical professional for Halliburton, leading a crew of service operator technicians in downhole acquisition services at remote well sites on land and in the Gulf of Mexico. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

John Scarlata, vice president of gas supply for PSEG Energy Resources & Trade, retired March 3 after 42 years with the New Jersey utility and was replaced by David F. Caffery. Caffery joined the company in 1977 as an associate engineer of fuel services, being promoted to manager of gas supply in 1998. In 2007, he was named director of portfolio management and regulatory. Caffery will be responsible for the gas portfolio, including responsibility for long-term capacity acquisition, gas trading and regulatory matters related to gas supply and pricing as well as fuels acquisition.

William “Bill” Cameron joined Romet Limited as business development manager. He is responsible for expanding Romet’s anodizing services and helping Romet achieve its growth objectives. Cameron spent 40 years in sales and marketing, mainly at oil, gas, energy and metering companies. He worked for Irving Oil for 15 years before joining Northern Energy Services. He then worked with Sensus USA for 13 years as a regional sales manager before being named director of Sales Canada. Most recently he was with GE Oil & Gas Canada as senior sales manager. Cameron holds a degree from the University of Texas in Industrial Education for Oil and Gas management.

Willbros Group is consolidating the roles of president and COO of its Canadian operations with current COO Jeremy Kinch assuming the role of president of the Canada segment. Kinch joined Willbros Canada in 2008 and previously held positions as vice president, general manager, Pipelines, and general manager, Field Services. He holds a bachelor’s degree in geological engineering from Queen’s University and is a licensed engineer in the provinces of Alberta.

Lindsay Brown was promoted to account executive and event coordinator of Foster Marketing. She will manage the strategic development and execution of client trade shows and events, including event recommendations, logistics, lead generation and exhibit management. She will also focus on developing strategic marketing plans and coordinating the firm’s new business development program. Brown hold a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

QS Energy, Inc., a developer of integrated technology solutions for the pipeline industry including applied oil technology, named Texas native Jason Lane as CEO and chairman. He replaced Greggory Bigger. Lane is a veteran of the oil and gas industry with a 20-year track record of procuring and divesting of oil and gas leases, mineral and royalty interests and production in the lower 48 states through his own partnerships and joint ventures.

Gas pipeline industry veterans DeWitt Burdeaux and Lane Miller have joined TRC’s Integrity Services Practice as training and market directors. Their experience includes top roles in the private sector and with PHMSA. They will provide clients with regulatory advocacy and support, compliance training, and technical consulting.

Miller was previously the chief compliance engineer for Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and also served as PG&E’s director of codes, standards and training, overseeing a 94-employee unit. He served for 27 years with PHMSA. Burdeaux served as a regulatory compliance specialist with FlexSteel Pipeline Technologies and as a senior pipeline safety regulatory and training specialist with PHMSA and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.

Ditch Witch^®, a Charles Machine Works Company, honored Robbie Royster of Ditch Witch of Virginia with the 2016 Lowell Highfill Award – given to the salesperson of the year. Royster began working for Ditch Witch in 1986 as a parts manager at a local dealership branch. He was rewarded for customer dedication with the 2000 Harold Chesnutt Award and is the only Ditch Witch employee to receive the Harold Chesnutt and Lowell Highfill awards.

Oil and gas pipeline legal experts Bob Hogfoss, Catherine Little and Annie Cook have joined Troutman Sanders LLP as partners. They previously practiced at Hunton & Williams LLP. The trio represent pipeline owners and operators throughout the U.S. on a wide range of issues involving pipeline development, operation, safety and environmental compliance. They will be based in Atlanta.

Swift Energy appointed Sean Woolverton as CEO, succeeding interim CEO Bob Banks, who remains as COO. Previously, Woolverton was COO of Samson Resources, which he joined in November 2013. From 2007-13, he held a series of positions at Chesapeake Energy. He has also worked for Encana and Burlington Resources.

Companies in the News

Lakewood, CO-based Tallgrass Energy Partners, LP was named one of The Denver Post’s Top Workplaces – the third consecutive year the company has achieved this honor. The Top Workplaces List is an annual award honoring the best companies to work for in Colorado.

Employees ranked the company highest in areas under “Alignment,” which measures employees’ belief that the company is moving in the right direction and operates consistent with strong values and ethics; “Connection,” which measures how well-informed and appreciated employees feel; and “Effectiveness,” which measures how efficiently the company executes its business plan.

Westwood Global Energy Group, a private equity-backed group of energy research, analysis and consulting companies headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, acquired Houston-based market research firm Energent Group Software. The addition of Energent’s information and analytics platform, plus industry specialist analyst team, significantly expands Westwood’s capabilities in the onshore U.S. market, particularly in shale regions.

Yokogawa Meters & Instruments Corp. will change its name to Yokogawa Test & Measurement Corp. on Oct. 1. The company develops measuring instruments and offers a wide range of calibration and other services. In a separate development, Sugar Land, TX-based Yokogawa Corporation of America announced Shuji Mori, who has been with Yokogawa for three decades, has been appointed CEO.

Denver-based CH2M signed a framework agreement with Shell to provide global engineering, procurement, construction and project management services across upstream, integrated gas and downstream projects.

Obituaries

James R. Hutton, one of the nation’s leading mechanical engineers whose career lasted over 70 years and was well-known for his mentoring activities, died in Houston on April 8. He was 96. Hutton was a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, its highest honor. In 2012 he received the Edward N. Henderson Award from the Gas Machinery Research Council.

Hutton was a mechanical engineering graduate from the University of Texas where he also received an MBA. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Shortly after the war he began his career with   Clark Brothers, a Division of  Dresser, which manufactured compressor  and integral gas engines. Hutton retired in 1986 as president of the International Division of Dresser Machinery, where he had worked for 38 years. The following day he began his final career with Compressor Engineering Corp., a Houston‐based compressor parts manufacturing firm, serving as vice president of Sales until his death.

Hutton was the oldest active registered professional engineer in the eight states where he was licensed to practice. He authored “How to Sell Technical Equipment and Services,” published by PennWell, in 2005.  Hutton was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Berry Hutton. He leaves two children, Heather Namendorf of Austin, TX and James E.B. Hutton of Houston and two grandchildren.

Daniel D. Pickard of Pipeline Contractors Association (PLCA), associate member Hub International, died March 15 in Tulsa, OK. He leaves wife Mary, two sons, Dan and Joe, and daughter Beth. Services were held in Broken Arrow, OK on March 21.

Edween “Eddy” Coolsaet, 88, died on March 28. She was the wife of 1977 PLCA past-President and honorary member Allan H. Coolsaet. She leaves five daughters, Karen, Paula, Amanda, Margaret and Janice; four sons, 1995 past-PLCA President Jeff, Christopher, Remi and Robert. Services were held on April 3 in Grosse Isle, MI.

John Rypien, former president of the Pipeline Contractors Association of Canada (PLCAC), died on Feb. 15. He was 68. Rypien served as PLCAC president 1991-92 and 1996-97. He also served as vice president, treasurer and as a director for many years.

Joseph Weeden “Jerry” McCarthy, another former PLCAC president, died on Feb. 8. He was 91. Weeden served as PLCAC president from 1972-73 after serving as vice president, treasurer and director, as well as serving on many committees. He retired at 84 after more than 60 years of pipelining.