Former BG Group plc executive Martin Houston has formed liquefied natural gas (LNG) project developer Parallax Energy in Houston. The new company said Thursday that it has LNG projects and a gas supply and trading business in development, and has “formed strategic partnerships with world-class industry operators.” Parallax has a partnership with upstream player Millennial Energy Partners. Houston, who is Parallax chairman, was BG Group’s COO and executive director before retiring. “My partners [in Parallax] and I have been involved in many of the contemporary liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects developed globally in the last 20 years, and we are excited to launch that expertise in new ways,” Houston said.

Patrick Pouyanne has been elected CEO and president of Total SA following the death of chairman and CEO Christophe de Margerie (see Daily GPI, Oct. 21). Pouyanne was president of the refining and chemicals unit. Former chairman and CEO Thierry Desmarest, who since his retirement has been honorary chairman, will assume the chairmanship until the end of 2015. Pouyanne joined Total in 1997 after working for several years for the French government. “The exceptional human and professional qualities that Christophe de Margerie exhibited during his time at Total were largely responsible for the success of the group,” the board stated.

Noble Energy Inc. President David L. Stover has been elected CEO by the board of directors. He succeeds Chuck Davidson, who is retiring in May. Stover has served as Noble’s COO since 2006 and became president in 2009. Before joining Noble, Stover was BP plc‘s vice president and business unit leader for the Gulf of Mexico Shelf from September 2000 to August 2002, and previously had been employed by Vastar Resources Inc. Davidson joined Noble in October 2000 after serving as chairman, president and CEO of Vastar. Davidson is to continue as chairman until the annual meeting in 2015, at which time Stover is to be named chairman. Susan M. Cunningham also has been elected executive vice president (EVP) for global exploration, new ventures, frontier, environmental, health, safety, regulatory and business innovation activities. In addition, Gary W. Willingham has been elected EVP for global production, drilling, major projects and supply chain activities.