Warren Resources Inc., which said in September that it would close its offices in New York City and Roswell, NM, to cut costs amid the commodities downturn, said three of its top executives would leave the company as a result of those closures (see Shale Daily, Oct. 1). General CounselSaema Somalya, Vice President of Corporate DevelopmentJeffrey Keeler and Chief Accounting Officer Brian Gelman have chosen to leave the company as it shifts its headquarters from New York City to Denver. The New Mexico office, the company said, was closed Dec. 1, and the New York closure is on track for March 2016. Warren has appointed John R. Powers, formerly of Dune Energy Inc., to serve as its vice president of accounting. The company also recently hired James Watt as its CEO and Frank T. Smith Jr. as its CFO, both of whom had previously worked for Dune. Powers’ appointment completes the company’s finance management team (see Shale Daily, Nov. 30).

Linden (Linn) Evanswas named to the new position of president/COO at Black Hills Corp., effective Jan. 1, according to CEO David Emery, who relinquished his president’s title while remaining chairman/CEO. Evans, who joined Black Hills in 2001 as an attorney, has been president/COO of the Black Hills utilities since 2004. Evans’ new role will include all of the company’s business segments, including the addition of oil/gas exploration and production subsidiary and newly acquired SourceGas utilities (see Daily GPI, July 13).

The Railroad Commission of Texas appointed Kimberly Corley executive director. Corley retired from Shell Oil Co. earlier this year, where she held several executive leadership positions, most recently as business development manager for gas monetization and general manager of construction risk mitigation and workforce development for Shell Upstream Americas. Previously, she served in various executive leadership roles within Shell. Before joining Shell, Corley held various executive and leadership positions with oil and gas and pipeline companies, including Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, El Paso Corp. and Tenneco Energy. Corley earned a bachelor’s of business administration from Sam Houston State University and masters of liberal studies from Rice University. As executive director, Corley will earn an annual salary of $180,000. She will join the commission early in 2016.

The Railroad Commission of Texas appointed Alexander Schoch general counsel. Schoch retired from Peabody Energy earlier this year where he most recently served as executive vice president, chief legal officer and secretary. Schoch previously held executive legal positions with various segments of the Goodrich Corp. He also served as an international attorney for Marathon Oil Corp. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the American Bar Association, and was recently elected to be a member of the American Law Institute. As general counsel, Schoch will earn an annual salary of $100,000. He will join the commission in early 2016.