Founded

Porter Bennett, president of Evergreen, CO-based industry consultant Bentek Energy LLC, will retire at the end of the year. Bennett, who founded Bentek in 1985, will be an adviser to the firm. Bentek was sold to Platts, a division of the McGraw-Hill Cos. Inc., earlier this year. James Simpson, who is currently vice president and general manager, will become president, the company said. Simpson previously modeled large structured transactions in both gas and power for Enron North America and led natural gas marketing and trading at MarkWest Hydrocarbon and Eprime Inc.

Board members of the Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) are mulling a report they received Tuesday that recommends significant policy changes for gas drilling near schools and are expected to discuss the items early next month. However, the executive director of the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council (BSEEC) told NGI’s Shale Daily the document they are holding is essentially “a hoax.”

Dan L. Duncan, 77, who co-founded Enterprise Products Co. in 1968 and took Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) public in July 1998, died from a cerebral hemorrhage March 28 at his home in Houston. He is survived by his wife, Jan, four children and four grandchildren.

Dan L. Duncan, 77, who co-founded Enterprise Products Co. in 1968 and took Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) public in July 1998, died Sunday night at his home in Houston.

Dan L. Duncan, 77, who co-founded Enterprise Products Co. in 1968 and took Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) public in July 1998, died Sunday night at his home in Houston.

Linn Energy LLC has appointed Mark Ellis as president and CEO. Mike Linn, who founded the company in 2003, will remain executive chairman of the board of directors and will focus on the long-term strategy of the company and board leadership. Ellis joined the Houston-based producer in December 2006 and has served as president and COO since December 2007. Ellis has more than 30 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry. Prior to joining Linn Energy, Ellis served as president of the Lower 48 states for ConocoPhillips and previously was senior vice president of North American production for Burlington Resources Corp.

Strong support by descendants of John D. Rockefeller, who founded forerunner Standard Oil, failed to persuade ExxonMobil Corp. shareholders last week to vote in favor of creating an independent chairman. Shareholders also defeated measures that would have required the oil giant to set goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Strong support by descendants of John D. Rockefeller, who founded forerunner Standard Oil, failed to persuade ExxonMobil Corp. shareholders Wednesday to vote in favor of creating an independent chairman. Shareholders also defeated measures to require goals to be set to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

One of the youngest commodity exchanges, The IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), founded in 2000, reportedly is the front-runner as a merger partner for one of the oldest, the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), whose origins as a trader of cocoa, coffee and cotton go back more than 100 years.