Career

Mountainview Energy Ltd. announced Wednesday that its founder, Joseph Montalban, has resigned from the company’s board of directors effective May 19. Montalban began his career in the oil and gas industry in the early 1950s, first as a roughneck in Alberta and then as a vice president for Flank Oil. He discovered oil in the Bakken Shale after drilling the Bugby #1 well in Glacier County, MT for Flank in 1957. He formed Montalban Drilling in the late 1950s and two public companies in the early 1970s, which would become MSR Exploration Ltd. in 1983. He also founded Gyspy Highview Gathering System Inc. In 2001 Montalban and his son, Patrick, formed Mountainview, which trades on the TSX Venture Exchange. Mountainview, based in Cut Bank, MT, is focused on exploration, production and development of the Bakken and Three Forks shales in the Williston Basin and the south Alberta Bakken shale play.

BP America Inc. President Lamar McKay last week told an audience of financial analysts in New Orleans that his career began in the Crescent City. While he said it was a pleasure to be back for the Howard Weil Energy Conference, McKay emphasized that neither he nor BP had forgotten how Louisiana’s shores were fouled last summer by oil from the company’s blown-out Macondo well.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has opened a $7 million oilfield services and training center in the heart of the Marcellus Shale that offers all of the comforts of home — and then some.

John W. Nichols, 93, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Devon Energy Corp., has died following a lengthy illness. Nichols began his career as an auditor for Oklahoma City-based oil and gas producers. As a certified public accountant, Nichols registered the world’s first public oil and gas drilling fund with the Securities and Exchange Commission. His investment fund raised more than $1.4 million within a few months, and using the seed money, Nichols and F.G. “Blackie” Blackwood in 1941 established an oil company to explore the northeast corner of New Mexico’s San Juan Basin. Nichols founded Devon in 1971 and asked his oldest son G. Larry Nichols to partner with him. Their first acquisition was five natural gas wells southeast of Dallas. Devon went public in 1988 and Nichols retired in 1999; his son is now chairman and CEO. Devon today is considered the largest independent oil and natural gas producer in the United States, with operations extending through Canada and overseas. At the end of 2007 Devon had proven reserves of 2.5 billion boe and an enterprise value of $59 billion. Devon also is Oklahoma’s largest publicly traded company. Funeral services are scheduled for Thursday at First Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City.

Early in his career, Devon Energy’s Brad Foster worked for Columbia Gas in Ohio where he was involved in the company’s shale gas exploration and production activity. He spent two summers working on shale projects before deciding, “I will never work a shale project again.”

Early in his career, Devon Energy’s Brad Foster worked for Columbia Gas in Ohio where he was involved in the company’s shale gas exploration and production activity. He spent two summers working on shale projects before deciding, “I will never work a shale project again.”

Jeroen van der Veer, 57, a career-long employee with Royal Dutch/Shell Group, took over the third-largest major last week as president and chairman of the Committee of Managing Directors following the ouster of Sir Philip Watts. Also resigning was Walter van de Vijver, 48, CEO of Shell’s Exploration and Production Business, who was considered at one time to be Watts’ eventual successor.

Patricia K. Swanke has been named vice president, operations,for The Dayton Power and Light Co., effective immediately. Swankebegan her career at DP&L in 1990 and has held variouspositions, most recently as managing director of gas and electrictransmission and distribution operations.