Died

In a reprise of legislation that died in committee last year, a proposal has surfaced at the opening of the new session for the Oregon Legislature requiring a needs assessment for any liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal or connecting pipeline tied to imports of new natural gas supplies into the state. The action is supposedly in response to the state’s three pending LNG terminal projects now in various stages of permitting (see Daily GPI, Jan. 4).

John R. Eckel Jr., chairman and CEO of Houston-based Copano Energy LLC, has died, company officials said. Eckel, who was 58, founded Copano in 1992 and served as president and CEO until April 2003 when he was named chairman. Under Eckel’s leadership, Copano grew from a single 23-mile natural gas pipeline to a successful midstream natural gas company with more than 6,000 miles of pipeline and seven processing plants in Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming and Louisiana. Copano was the first midstream company to trade publicly as a limited liability company. In addition to his roles at Copano, Eckel served on the board and on the executive committee of the Texas Pipeline Association, and as CEO of Live Oak Reserves Inc., an exploration and production company that he founded in 1986. In separate news, R. Bruce Northcutt, the company’s president and COO, was elected as CEO and to the board. William L. Thacker, who has served on Copano’s board since the company’s initial public offering, has been elected chairman.

Harold J. “Bill” Haynes, former chairman and CEO of Chevron Corp.’s predecessor company Standard Oil Company of California, died Wednesday. He was 83. Haynes interrupted his college studies to join the U.S. Navy during World War II. He then graduated from Texas A&M University and began a 34-year career with Standard Oil. He was named president in 1969 and chairman and CEO in 1974. Haynes retired in 1981. He also spent 28 years as a consultant and adviser to the Bechtel companies, the Bechtel family and Fremont Group, a private investment company. “Bill drove tremendous growth in the company and solidified its preeminent position in the industry by the time of his retirement,” said Chevron CEO Dave O’Reilly. “He left an indelible mark on our company, and our industry, by encouraging open dialogue and challenging conventional thinking. He ushered in a new era of communication between the industry, public and news media on energy issues that was truly trend-setting. I speak for our board of directors and employees in saying we are deeply saddened by his passing.”

Martin L. Allday, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 1989 to 1993, died last Monday in Austin, TX, at the age of 82. “Chairman Allday was one of the founding fathers of FERC competition policy,” said FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher. “Under [his] direction, FERC embarked on the restructuring of the interstate natural gas pipeline industry, culminating in 1992 with the landmark Order 636. That rulemaking, which required separation of sales and transportation services on interstate natural gas pipelines, is widely praised for helping usher in…energy market competition.” Allday is survived by his wife, three children and several grandchildren. Former President George Herbert Walker Bush, a close friend of Allday, was one of the pallbearers at the funeral last Thursday.

Martin L. Allday, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 1989 to 1993, died Tuesday in Austin, TX, at the age of 82. “Chairman Allday was one of the founding fathers of FERC competition policy,” said FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher. “Under [his] direction, FERC embarked on the restructuring of the interstate natural gas pipeline industry, culminating in 1992 with the landmark Order 636. That rulemaking, which required separation of sales and transportation services on interstate natural gas pipelines, is widely praised for helping usher in…energy market competition.” Allday is survived by his wife, three children and several grandchildren. The first President George Bush, a close friend of Allday, will be one of the pallbearers at the funeral Thursday.

With the runoff win of Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Tuesday, the Democrats’ hopes of obtaining a filibuster-proof majority of 60 members in the Senate died. But they remained undeterred, saying they have the support to fend off GOP efforts to derail major legislation.

Thomas Myers “Tom” Hunt, who went to work for his uncle, the legendary wildcatter H.L. Hunt, before World War II and eventually chaired privately held Hunt Petroleum, died Tuesday in Dallas at the age of 85. Tom Hunt was working in the oilfields in the 1930s and was said to have impressed his uncle, who hired him as an adviser. The younger Hunt eventually rose to manage all of the family’s operations, and he negotiated some of the oil company’s most important transactions. Earlier this year he negotiated the company’s acquisition by XTO Energy Corp. for nearly $4.2 billion (see Daily GPI, June 11). A life-long bachelor, Hunt was said to avoid publicity, and he preferred answering his own phone, associates said.

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.

Memorial services for the enigma that was Kenneth Lay, 64, founder of the bankrupt Enron Corp., were to be held Sunday in Aspen, CO, where he died early last Wednesday, and in Houston this coming Wednesday. Lay, regarded by some as a good friend, devoted to his family and a leading supporter of the Houston community, was seen by others as among the worst of the robber barons, enriching himself while leaving some Enron pension and shareholders penniless. Prevailing legal opinion is that his death before he had a chance to appeal his conviction will wipe his slate clean in the eyes of the law. History will determine the rest.