Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission(COGCC) Director Matt Lepore, who was appointed in 2012, is stepping down effective March 1 to join private consulting firm Adamantine Energy, founded by former Colorado Oil and Gas Association chief Tisha Schuller. Julie Murphy, now assistant director for energy and minerals at the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, is taking the helm of COGCC. Gov. John Hickenlooper said Lepore had performed in “one of the most demanding jobs in state government…with style and substance that provided calm over an area often at the center of controversy…Under his leadership, Colorado developed regulations that have been used as models across the country.” Murphy has worked on the state’s policy, legal and technical issues and previously managed regulatory affairs for the COGCC. She holds a wildlife degree from Kansas State University, a master’s degree in environmental resources management from the University of South Carolina-Columbia and a law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.
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People — California PUC
The California legislature has confirmed Martha Guzman Aceves and Clifford Rechtschaffen to the California Public Utilities Commission. They were appointed to the commission in 2016 by Gov. Jerry Brown.. A deputy legislative affairs director in Brown’s office since 2011, Guzman Aceves was a communities program director for the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation from 2005-2011. Rechtschaffen served as a senior adviser to Brown from 2011-2017, focusing on climate, energy, and environmental issues. In 2011 he also served as acting director of the California Department of Conservation, which includes the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources. Their terms expire on Jan. 1, 2023.
People — California Ratepayer Advocate
California’s state Senate on Monday confirmed Gov. Jerry Brown’s selection of the new head of the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) independent consumer advocacy branch, the Office of Ratepayer Advocates(ORA). Elizabeth Echolswill be the new ORA director for the unit representing utility ratepayers in safety and rate proceedings at the five-member CPUC. Appointed last year by the governor, Echols was previously administrator at the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Pacific Region office, and before that, director of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Northern California chapter.
People — Stacey Olson, Chevron
Chevron Appalachia LLChas named Stacey Olson president. Olson’s appointment was effective June 15. She replaces Nigel Hearne who left the division in January to serve as deputy managing director and was recently named managing director of Chevron’s Australian business unit. Chevron Appalachia oversees the company’s assets in the Marcellus Shale and others in Michigan. Olson joined Chevron in 1989 and has worked for the company in various positions across the world.
People — Mark Papa, Don Wallette Jr.
Mark G. Papa has been named chairman of Houston-based Oil States International Inc. following the resignation of Stephen A. Wells. Papa, who has served as a director since 2001, was chairman and CEO of EOG Resources Inc. from August 1999 until December 2013, when he retired (see Daily GPI,Dec. 18, 2014). The one-time Enron Corp. executive in 1999 took the Houston subsidiary, formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas, and built it into a natural gas powerhouse over his 32-year tenure. He also is a partner with Riverstone Holdings LLC. Papa has “given us very valued insights and commentary” since he came aboard as a director, CEO Cindy B. Taylor said. “I believe he is one of the greatest industry icons around.” Papa has a petroleum engineering degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a masters degree from the University of Houston. Wells is to continue to serve as a director and as a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee, subject to reelection at the May annual shareholders’ meeting.
People — CPUC, Freeport LNG
A former member of the Clinton administration, Obama-Biden transition team and policy director at Google, Elizabeth Echols, 55, was appointed by California Gov. Jerry Brown as the new director of the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC)independent consumer branch, the Division of Ratepayer Advocates. Most recently, Echols, a Stanford University law school graduate, was the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Pacific Region (2010-2013) and director of the Northern California chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (2009-2010).
New BOEM Director Strong on Renewables, Offshore Wind
Abigail Ross Hopper, current director of the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) and a strong supporter of offshore wind energy, has been named director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) effective Jan. 5, according to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell.
People
Wyoming Gov. Matt Meadhas namedBridget Hillas director of theOffice of State Lands and Investments, which is involved in, among other things, associated wellhead natural gas flaring and coalbed methane leases (seeDaily GPI,June 20, 2012). Hill, who was an attorney for the lands office for six years, replacesRyan Lance, who is moving to the private sector. The office supports the state’s Board of Land Commissioners and the Loan and Investment Board, which are composed of the top five elected officials, including Mead.
People
Ben van Beurden, 55, who was appointed downstream director and a member of the executive committee for Royal Dutch Shell plc in January, was named to succeed Peter Voser as CEO on Jan. 1 (see NGI, May 6). Van Beurden has been responsible for refining and marketing businesses, as well as overseeing the trading companies. He also is responsible for the petrochemicals manufacturing and marketing business, which has been eyeing expansions in the United States because of increased natural gas activity, as well as the gas-to-liquids business. He joined Shell in 1983 and has worked in Houston, the Netherlands, Africa, Malaysia and most recently, the UK. He is credited with helping to turn the petrochemicals operations to profitability after several quarters of big losses. The Dutch national earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Supreme Court of Ohio Will Hear Appeal of ‘Home Rule’ Case
The Supreme Court of Ohio has agreed to hear an appeal in a case involving local ordinances, or “home rule” laws, that pits a Utica Shale driller against a Summit County municipality that had tried to shut down the driller’s operations.
