Named

If U.S. shale plays were students in a classroom, the one blowing the curve on the oil production test would be named Bakken.

Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) has named a new vice president/treasurer, Christopher Stavros, 48, who has been the oil/gas exploration and production (E&P) company’s director of investor relations since 2006. Stavros will continue to oversee the investor relations function in his new capacity, according to Oxy CEO Stephen Chazen, who said Stavros has a comprehensive understanding of both the financial and operational aspects of Oxy and its E&P business. Before joining Oxy in 2005, Stavros held positions with Ernst & Young, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Prudential Securities and UBS. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Boston University and an MBA from the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has named a retired brigadier general Jack Hagan director of the beefed up Consumer Protection and Safety Division (CPSD) at the CPUC. He starts the assignment April 23. Since the San Bruno pipeline explosion, more attention has been focused on this unit in the state regulatory commission. Hagan said his priority will be to “shift safety enforcement” emphasis from compliance to one of “ensuring that all regulated entities operate under a culture based on risk assessment.” Hagan retired in 1999 after 28 years as a Marine Corps infantry officer and was called back to service with the California governor’s Office of Homeland Security in 2003.

Bellevue, WA-based Puget Sound Energy (PSE) named Phil Bussey to a newly created position of senior vice president and chief customer officer. Bussey’s focus will be on the services PSE provides to its 1.5 million natural gas and electric utility customers and various stakeholder groups. He will join the Puget Energy combination utility in mid-March, coming from his current position as CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. Bussey previously served as PSE’s senior vice president for corporate affairs before taking the position heading the chamber. In his new position, he will be responsible for customer solutions, corporate affairs, and federal/state government relations.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has named Al Walker, the company’s current president and COO, to the post of CEO to replace current CEO Jim Hackett, who will stay on as executive chairman. Hackett became CEO in December 2003. The change will take effect May 15 at the company’s annual meeting. Walker will stand for election to Anadarko’s board of directors at that time. “Throughout his time with the company, Al has demonstrated an exceptional ability to create value for Anadarko, resulting in some of the company’s most noteworthy accomplishments,” said Hackett. “Al has been a member of the company’s executive management team since joining Anadarko in 2005 and has been integral to the company’s major strategic and tactical decisions over that period.” Walker, 55, has more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry, with a focus on exploration and production. “We see very little change as it relates to the day-to-day operations at [Anadarko],” Wells Fargo Securities analysts said of the CEO appointment.

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead named a new Wyoming State Geologist, Tom Drean, formerly ConocoPhillips’ president for Iraq. Drean will serve on the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and the Wyoming Board of Professional Geologists. The state geologist leads the Wyoming State Geological Survey. Drean worked for ConocoPhillips for more than 26 years, serving in various areas of the world. He replaces Wallace Ulrich.

Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp. has named John Benton vice president and general manager of the energy holding company’s oil and gas production unit, Black Hills Exploration & Production. Benton is replacing John Vering, a Black Hills board member who has served as interim CEO of the E&P unit and will return to his board position. With bachelor’s and master’s degrees in petroleum engineering from Colorado School of Mines, Benton comes to Black Hills from Rex Energy Corp., where he headed development of the company’s Niobrara acreage in Wyoming and Colorado.

ConocoPhillips, which is repositioning itself as a pure-play exploration and production (E&P) company, said its spun-off downstream company is to be named Phillips 66 and will house the refining, marketing, midstream and chemicals businesses. The repositioning is expected to be completed in 2Q2012; ConocoPhillips plans to file preliminary paperwork within the next week (see Daily GPI, Oct. 27). Both companies would be headquartered in Houston but would maintain a “significant” presence in Oklahoma, where the predecessor company was founded. Bartlesville, OK, is to be the global center for Phillips 66 technology, as well as the site of transaction services organizations for both companies. The ConocoPhillips E&P technology organization would remain in Houston.

Brian Gilvary, who has worked at BP plc for 25 years, has been named CFO effective Jan. 1 and will join the board of directors. Current CFO Byron Grote, 63, will become executive vice president, corporate business activities. Gilvary, 49, has been deputy group CFO and head of finance for BP for nearly two years. He previously was CEO of BP’s commodity trading arm, Integrated Supply and Trading (IST). He also has been a board member of TNK-BP since December, having previously also served on the board from 2003 to 2005. Grote, 63, has been CFO since 2002. In his new role he will have responsibility for BP’s IST, alternative energy and shipping businesses as well as the company’s technology and remediation management activities.