E. Russell “Rusty” Braziel has been appointed to serve on the National Petroleum Council (NPC) by Energy Secretary Rick Perry. The NPC is a self-funded advisory body to the Energy secretary whose members represent all sectors of the oil and gas industries and related interests. “The challenges facing today’s energy markets have never been greater, and I look forward to collaborating with other NPC members to address the important issues facing our industry,” Braziel said. “In particular, I hope to assist in the council’s work on an assessment of U.S. oil and gas transportation infrastructure,” which the Trump administration requested in 2017. Braziel is president and CEO of Houston-based RBN Energy, an energy market consultancy and analytics company. He is the author of “The Domino Effect: How the Shale Revolution Is Transforming Energy Markets, Industries, and Economics.” Braziel also is a member of the North American Energy Standards Board.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) President Nick Stavropoulos is retiring in September and his replacement is to be named in the coming months. Separately, electric distribution Vice President Barry Anderson was named to lead the new Wildfire Resilience and Emergency Management group. State investigators have determined PG&E utility operations were potentially involved in at least 16 of the wildfires that occurred last year in Northern California.