Elected

Effective March 1, San Francisco-based PG&E Corp. has named Geisha Williams, 55, CEO. She is currently president of the electric operations side of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E). Current CEO Tony Earley, 67, was elected executive chair of the PG&E board, which also elected Nick Stavropoulos, 58, current PG&E president for gas operations, as president/COO of the parent company.

Defeat of an anti-drilling measure in Santa Barbara County, CA, and the re-election of Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday provided new encouragement to industry-backed supporters of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and continued development of the nation’s unconventional energy resources.

Elected officials in Fort Collins, CO, 60 miles north of Denver, on Tuesday rejected two proposals to extend the city’s oil/natural gas drilling moratorium, which is set to expire at the end of July. The measures were defeated on 4-3 votes of the seven-member city council.

A group of elected officials, economic development and real estate experts in northeastern Ohio have developed a proposal to create a network of wet gas gathering lines and other infrastructure in the Utica Shale, using the region’s steel industry, abandoned or partially used rail lines and existing highways.

Cash natural gas prices fell a nickel overall Thursday as traders elected to get most of their deals done ahead of the usual volatility following the release of government inventory data.

Thomas F. Darden has retired from the Quicksilver Resources Inc. board chairmanship and from his officer position effective Wednesday, the company said. He will remain on the board as a director and chairman emeritus and will continue to work for Quicksilver through the end of the year. He will be focused on pursuing a joint venture in British Columbia’s Horn River Basin, something that the Fort Worth, TX-based company has sought for some time (see Shale Daily, May 8). Darden is to retire from Quicksilver on Dec. 31 but will continue to advise the company on the Horn River development and other projects, the company said. W. Yandell Rogers was elected chairman Wednesday. He has served as an independent director since March 1999.

Cash natural gas prices fell 4 cents overall as traders elected to get their deals done ahead of the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly storage report.

In what is believed to be a first in the industry, elected officials in Mora County, NM, have enacted a total ban on oil and gas drilling.

Cash natural gas prices retreated 11 cents on average Thursday as traders elected to factor in mild temperatures across the country and incorporate Wednesday’s screen weakness ahead of the release of government inventory data.