People & Companies briefs: Shellebarger to succeed Luquette at Chevron; van Beurden named Shell CEO

Shellebarger named president of Chevron North America E&P; Luquette to retire

Jeff Shellebarger has been named president of Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company, effective 1 August 2013. He will succeed Gary Luquette, who will retire from Chevron after 35 years of service. Mr Shellebarger is currently managing director of Chevron’s IndoAsia Business Unit. Since joining Chevron in 1980, he has held a variety of upstream positions in the US, Angola and Indonesia. In his new capacity, he will be responsible for overseeing Chevron’s exploration and production activities throughout North America, including the company’s portfolio in California, the Gulf of Mexico, Pennsylvania, the Mid-Continent region of the US and Canada. Mr Shellebarger will report to George Kirkland, Chevron’s vice chairman and executive vice president of upstream.

“Jeff’s appointment to this leadership role demonstrates the bench strength of our management team,” said John Watson, Chevron chairman and CEO. “We are placing an experienced and proven executive in a key position as we continue to pursue our growth objectives.”

Mr Luquette has led Chevron’s North America Upstream business since 2006. He previously held key exploration and production positions in Louisiana, California, the UK and Indonesia. As head of the company’s North America upstream business, he opened frontiers by advancing Chevron’s presence in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and acquiring significant shale gas positions in Pennsylvania and Canada. Mr Luquette further played an instrumental role in helping the industry improve its oil spill prevention and response capabilities and enabling the company’s restart in the Gulf through collaboration with government officials and regulators after Macondo. Mr Luquette will stay with the company until 1 September 2013 to transition his responsibilities.

“Over the course of his career, Gary established himself as a remarkable leader within Chevron and the industry,” Mr Watson. “But beyond his leadership qualities, Gary was an exceptional colleague whose experience and insight made him an invaluable member of our senior management team.”

Van Beurden succeed Voser as Shell CEO

Ben van Beurden will succeed Peter Voser as CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, effective 1 January 2014. Mr Voser will leave Shell at the end of March 2014 after 29 years with the company.

“I am delighted to announce Ben van Beurden as the next chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell,” chairman Jorma Ollila said. “Ben has deep knowledge of the industry and proven executive experience across a range of Shell businesses. Ben will continue to drive and further develop the strategic agenda that we have set out, to generate competitive returns for our shareholders.”

Mr van Beurden most recently served as downstream director for Shell. He joined the Royal Dutch Shell Group in 1983 and has held several technical and commercial roles in the upstream and downstream businesses. These include VP of manufacturing excellence and executive VP of chemicals. He has worked in The Netherlands, Africa, Malaysia, the US and, most recently, the UK. He graduated with a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.

BSEE’s James Watson to join ABS

James A. Watson, director of the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), will join ABS as president and chief operating officer of the Americas Division on 2 September 2013. In this role, he will have operational responsibility for activities in North, South and Central America and the Caribbean.

Mr Watson will take over from Robert Gilman, who will move to the ABS Group (ABSG) as senior VP and head of technical inspection services within ABSG Consulting.

As director of BSEE, Mr Watson has been responsible for promoting safety, environment protection and resource conservation through the regulatory oversight and enforcement of offshore operations on the US Outer Continental Shelf.

Before BSEE, he served as the US Coast Guard’s director of prevention policy for marine safety, security and stewardship, where his responsibilities included commercial vessel safety and security, ports and cargo safety and security and maritime investigations. He was designated as the federal on-scene coordinator for the governmentwide response to Macondo in June 2010.

“The Coast Guard, BSEE and ABS have similar missions of promoting safety and protecting the environment; so Jim’s background makes him uniquely qualified for this position working alongside both the marine and offshore industries,” ABS chairman and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki said.

Mr Watson graduated in 1978 from the US Coast Guard Academy with a bachelors of science degree in marine engineering and holds master of science degrees from the University of Michigan in mechanical engineering and naval architecture, in addition to a master’s degree in strategic studies from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Mr Watson will be based in Houston, Texas.

Doug Suttles joins Encana as president, CEO

Encana has appointed Doug Suttles as president, CEO and a director of the company. An industry veteran with 30 years of experience, Mr Suttles most recently served as chief operating officer of BP Exploration and Production. “I am excited to take the helm of one of North America’s leading energy producers,” he said. “Encana has a reputation for innovation and excellence, a tremendous set of assets, and dedicated employees that I am honored to be a part of. Over the coming months, I look forward to working with the entire organization as we shape a strategy and plan that will grow shareholder value and unlock Encana’s full potential.”

Before joining Encana last month, he held a number of senior leadership posts at BP, including chief operating officer of BP Exploration & Production and president of BP Alaska. He was a member of the board of BP America, as well as the BP America Operations Advisory Board. Previously, Mr Suttles served as president of BP Sakhalin, where he was responsible for BP’s activities in Sakhalin, Russia, and its joint venture with Rosneft.

Other senior leadership roles at BP include vice president for North Sea operations and president of BP’s oil business in Trinidad. Prior to joining BP, he completed various production engineering assignments with Exxon from 1983 to 1988. He has also served as a board member of the University of Texas Engineering Advisory Board since 2007; has been an active board director of NEOS, a privately held company, since September 2011; and has been a board member of Ceres since December 2011.

Mr Suttles graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. In 2008 he received the University of Texas Mechanical Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award.