Ultra Petroleum Corp. CEO Mike Watford has assumed the chairmanship of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), with Mike Miller, president and founder of Merlin Oil & Gas Inc. as vice chair. Watford previously was CEO of Nuevo Energy Co. and is on the boards of Valerus and America’s Natural Gas Alliance. Watford also is an appointed member of the National Petroleum Council, a committee that advises the Secretary of Energy. Miller serves on the board of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, the American Association of Petroleum Landmen legislative update committee and previously served as president of the Lafayette, LA, Association of Petroleum Landmen. Outgoing Chair Virginia “Gigi” Lazenby, who began serving in 2011, is to remain on the IPAA board of directors.

San Diego-based Sempra Energy said Tuesday that it has added a 13th member to its Board of Directors — Pablo Ferrero, 50, a Buenos Aires, Argentina-based director and advisor with several South American energy companies. Over a 22-year career in the energy industry, Ferrero has held senior executive positions with a number companies involved in major natural gas pipelines, power plants and utilities in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile. Currently he is involved withPampa Energia; Servicios Petroleros Argentina; EDESA Holding; and Methanex Corp. With growing assets in Mexico, Peru, Chile and Argentina, Sempra now has two board members from the Latin American nations in which it is doing more business. Since 2010, Luis Téllez has been a director, and he is the Chairman/CEO of the Mexican Stock Exchange (Bolsa Mexicana de Valores).