Alaska Gov. Bill Walker appointed John Hendrix to the newly created cabinet position of chief oil and gas adviser. Hendrix previously worked as general manager of Apache Alaska. His oil and gas background includes work as a consultant to industry managing directors, oil ministers and the World Bank. “As Alaska navigates this new reality of low oil prices and production, the industry itself is grappling with ways to innovate amidst this economic downturn,” Walker said. “I am pleased that John Hendrix will join my team to help steer the conversation between the state and the industry so the relationship is mutually beneficial.” Hendrix began his oilfield career in 1980 with Schlumberger Oilfield Services on Alaska’s North Slope. He later joined BP, where he held several engineering and managerial positions within the North Slope, Anchorage, Russia and the United Kingdom. He was also part of BP’s first Russian operation, Tarasov, in 1991. During Hendrix’s 18-year career with BP, he founded production technical limits and base management practices, which BP currently uses. In 2005, Hendrix joined Apache Corp. as production engineering manager for the Gulf Coast region. Before moving back to Alaska in 2011, Hendrix served for five years as the general manager and managing director of Apache’s Qarun Petroleum Co. joint venture in Egypt. He also served as a board member and vice-president of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association.