Executives

Growth in energy sector activity slowed significantly in the final three months of 2018, according to the quarterly Dallas Fed Energy Survey of oil and gas executives.

Most global oil and gas executives expect to make deals to buy or sell assets in 2019, nearly 10% above the global average, with most of the activity likely to be in the United States, spurred by onshore transactions, and in Canada, according to a recent survey.

Halliburton Co. shareholders have rejected for the first time an executive compensation plan that management had touted to line up with company returns and retain key employees.

U.S. oil and natural gas executives are looking to incorporate emerging technologies to improve business operations, but they do not expect artificial intelligence (AI) or automation to eliminate jobs, according to KPMG’s 2018 U.S. Energy Outlook Survey.

Oil and gas executives are more pessimistic than they were a year ago about crude oil prices and only slightly more enthusiastic about a bump in natural gas prices, according to a survey by Deloitte.

Halliburton Co. President Jeff Miller will add CEO to his title effective June 1, succeeding Dave Lesar, who is continuing as executive chairman. Miller, who already serves on the board, joined Halliburton in 1997 and formerly was COO. He holds a bachelor of science in agriculture and business from McNeese State University in Louisiana and a master’s degree from Texas A&M University. Lesar, who has been chairman and CEO since 2000, plans as executive chairman to focus on the company’s strategic direction and be actively engaged with shareholders and customers. Lesar, who joined Halliburton in 1993, entered into an executive employment agreement that provides that he will continue as executive chairman until mandatory retirement on Dec. 31, 2018; it also contains a four-year noncompete agreement. “I have known and worked with Jeff for almost 30 years and have great confidence that he is the best choice to be the next Halliburton CEO,” Lesar said.

Two weeks after saying he wants to make federal agencies “do more with less,” President Trump signed an order Monday calling for reorganization of the executive branch of the government, a move that could affect the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Executives with ties to the energy industry told a Senate panel that delays in the current federal permitting process for infrastructure projects, including for natural gas pipelines, are unreasonable, create uncertainty and higher costs for the sector.

President Trump signed an executive order Friday requiring every agency of the federal government to establish a regulatory reform task force to identify regulations that should be repealed or modified.