Adviser

Stone Energy Corp. said this week that it has hired a financial adviser to help the board of directors decide in what direction the company should go after emerging from bankruptcy earlier this year.

Chevron Corp. subsidiary Chevron Canada Ltd. will acquire a 50% operating interest in the Kitimat, British Columbia (BC), liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project and proposed Pacific Trail Pipeline (PTP), and a 50% interest in 644,000 acres of petroleum and natural gas rights in the Horn River and Liard basins in BC, and be a partner in the project and acreage with Apache Corp., the companies said Monday.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. shareholders were urged in a letter sent Thursday by the New York City comptroller to vote against the only two board members up for reelection in June. Meanwhile, the board on Friday adopted a compensation arrangement for outside directors that reduces compensation by 20% and eliminates personal travel on aircraft in which the company has a stake.

North America offers the “greatest opportunities” for the natural gas and oil industry this year, according to new survey of executives.

A staff member of Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), with a background in Marcellus Shale issues and energy taxes, has joined the government relations staff of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA). Before joining the IPAA, Matthew Kellogg was legislative assistant to Reed, who is co-chair of the Marcellus Shale Caucus, which was formed earlier this year, and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. “Matt’s legislative background in energy policy, particularly as the head staffer of the Marcellus Shale Caucus, will provide a unique perspective on the industry’s public policy challenges,” said IPAA President Barry Russell. Prior to his stint in Congress, Kellogg worked at the New York State Assembly Minority Counsel’s Office in Albany, where he researched legislation and agency regulations regarding the state’s moratorium on horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. At the IPAA, Kellogg primarily will be responsible for the legislative and regulatory issues surrounding Marcellus Shale development. He will also serve as a legal adviser on environment and tax policy.

Porter Bennett, president of Evergreen, CO-based industry consultant Bentek Energy LLC, will retire at the end of the year. Bennett, who founded Bentek in 1985, will be an adviser to the firm. Bentek was sold to Platts, a division of the McGraw-Hill Cos. Inc., earlier this year. James Simpson, who is currently vice president and general manager, will become president, the company said. Simpson previously modeled large structured transactions in both gas and power for Enron North America and led natural gas marketing and trading at MarkWest Hydrocarbon and Eprime Inc.

The Senate late Thursday confirmed Mark P. Wetjen, former policy adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), to a five-year term on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), succeeding departing Commissioner Michael Dunn.

Quicksilver Resources Inc. is hoping to turn some of its Barnett Shale assets into a cash breadbasket through the creation of a master limited partnership (MLP). Proceeds would be used to pay down Quicksilver debt.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) has tapped former National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Jim Hall to serve as an outside adviser to help the utility oversee the extensive safety improvement initiatives under way within its natural gas operations.