Board

A hedge fund launched only last year proved to be the little Engine No. 1 that could on Wednesday, winning at least two seats on the ExxonMobil board. The upstart hedge fund, which controls only 0.02% of the shares, last year began a quest to force change at the Irving, TX-based supermajor. In January, it…

An activist investment firm prodding ExxonMobil to boost its alternative energy holdings and improve management oversight on Wednesday formally nominated four people to the board, in time for consideration ahead of this year’s annual meeting. San Francisco-based Engine No. 1 LLC last month said it wanted to squeeze more value from ExxonMobil through “active ownership”…

Range Resources Corp. has agreed to add two independent directors to its board with the oversight and approval of one of the largest shareholders, SailingStone Capital Partners LLC.

Key Energy Services Inc. has appointed CFO Marshall Dodson as interim CEO after President and CEO Robert Drummond, who has run the company since November 2016, resigned to pursue “another opportunity.” Drummond was prepared to continue in his position for 90 days, but the board named Dodson to take the helm as it searches for a new chief. Drummond is to remain on the board. Key, which restructured following a voluntary bankruptcy filing two years ago, is the largest onshore, rig-based well servicing contractor based on the number of rigs owned. It provides a range of well intervention services, with operations in all major onshore oil and gas producing regions of the continental United States.

EQT Corp., to appease restive shareholders concerned about the $8 billion deal to acquireRice Energy Inc., has launched a nationwide search to add two “independent” board members with midstream experience. The directors would join an internal committee to be formedonce the transaction is completed. Some investors have pushed EQTto scrap the merger and instead separate the midstream and upstream businesses. A special shareholder meeting to approve the merger has been scheduled for Nov. 9. EQT’s board has approved the transaction.

Lorenzo Simonelli, president and CEO of Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE), has added chairmanto his title, as expected, succeeding GE Chairman/CEO Jeff Immelt, who has retired from the BHGE board. BHGE board member J. Larry Nichols, chairman of Devon Energy Corp., also plans to resign from the board after serving on the Baker Hughes Inc. board for 16 years. With the two resignations, BHGE has reduced the size of its board to nine and named current GE-designee BHGE board member W. Geoffrey Beattie as the lead director. GE owns 62.5% of BHGE.

Lorenzo Simonelli, president and CEO of Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE), has added chairmanto his title, as expected, succeeding GE Chairman/CEO Jeff Immelt, who has retired from the BHGE board. BHGE board member J. Larry Nichols, chairman of Devon Energy Corp., also plans to resign from the board after serving on the Baker Hughes Inc. board for 16 years. With the two resignations, BHGE has reduced the size of its board to nine and named current GE-designee BHGE board member W. Geoffrey Beattie as the lead director. GE owns 62.5% of BHGE.

The Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) has assessed a $1.1 million civil penalty against EQT Corp. for a 2012 impoundment leak in which thousands of gallons of natural gas drilling wastewater were discharged in Tioga County.

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.