Named

Dave Neslin, who has been acting director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission (COGCC) since November 2007, has been named director by state officials. Neslin, who holds a law degree, has run the commission in an acting capacity since it began to revamp the state’s natural gas and oil drilling rules. “After a rigorous testing and interview process, the commission unanimously recommended David Neslin and I am pleased to have him at the helm of the COGCC,” said Harris Sherman, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which oversees the commission. Sherman called Neslin “a consummate professional whose fairness and integrity will be invaluable assets as Colorado develops its rich natural gas resources.” Since August 2007 Neslin also had been serving as assistant director for energy and minerals within the DNR. He will step down from that position.

Dave Neslin, who has been acting director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission (COGCC) since November 2007, has been named director by state officials. Neslin, who holds a law degree, has run the commission in an acting capacity since it began to revamp the state’s natural gas and oil drilling rules. “After a rigorous testing and interview process, the commission unanimously recommended David Neslin and I am pleased to have him at the helm of the COGCC,” said Harris Sherman, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR),which oversees the commission. Sherman called Neslin “a consummate professional whose fairness and integrity will be invaluable assets as Colorado develops its rich natural gas resources.” Since August 2007 Neslin also had been serving as assistant director for energy and minerals within the DNR. He will step down from that position.

Lee K. Boothby, 47, has been named president at Newfield Exploration Co. The board of directors also expects to name Boothby as CEO at the company’s annual meeting in May. Boothby would succeed David A. Trice, 60, who plans to retire in May. Trice is up for reelection to the board at the annual meeting and if elected, he would serve a one-year term as nonexecutive chairman to assist in the transition. Boothby joined Newfield nearly 10 years ago and most recently served as senior vice president of acquisitions and business development. From February 2002 to October 2007 Boothby was president of the company’s Midcontinent division, and he guided early development of the Woodford Shale play. Newfield plans to name Gary D. Packer, 46, as COO in May. Packer joined Newfield in 1995 and currently serves as president of Newfield’s Rocky Mountain division. Trice, one of Newfield’s 23 founders in 1989, had expected to retire in May 2008, but he extended his tenure following the death of Newfield President David F. Schaible, who died in late 2007. “I have been fortunate to have a great team of managers to work with and a staff of talented people who continue to make this a special place,” said Trice.

Even with slightly more than 7 Bcf/d of shut-in supplies in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Tuesday and three named tropical storms in the Atlantic, the spot gas market felt enough relief from the impact of Hurricane Gustav apparently being less than what had been feared to allow prices to fall by mostly sizeable amounts at nearly all points.

Lars Herbst has been named regional director of the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) region. In his new post, Herbst will manage the leasing of OCS lands off of five Gulf Coast states, and will supervise the regulation of operations and protection of the environment on more than 7,000 leases, which involve more than 4,000 platforms. He has been with the MMS since 1983. Herbst is a registered professional engineer in the state of Louisiana and holds a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from Louisiana State University.

Lars Herbst has been named regional director of the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) region. In his new post, Herbst will manage the leasing of OCS lands off of five Gulf Coast states, and will supervise the regulation of operations and protection of the environment on more than 7,000 leases, which involve more than 4,000 platforms. He has been with the MMS since 1983. Herbst is a registered professional engineer in the state of Louisiana and holds a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from Louisiana State University.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) named Meg Collins of the Colorado Livestock Association (CLA) president of the energy industry trade group. Collins will assume her new role with COGA effective Aug. 24. She has been director of environmental affairs at the CLA, where she worked with livestock producers to help craft environmental regulations and legislation affecting the industry. Collins will replace COGA’s current leader, Executive Vice President Greg Schnacke, who will be leaving COGA for a position with Americans for American Energy, a domestic energy advocacy group; and Policy Communications Inc. a Golden, CO-based public affairs and lobbying firm for energy and mining interests. Schnacke has been with COGA for 13 years. Prior to his work with COGA, Schnacke served as the legislative director and deputy administrative assistant for former Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS) for nine years.

Former Wyoming legislator Randall Luthi has been named director of the Minerals Management Service (MMS), taking over from acting Director Walter Cruickshank, who stepped into the position when Johnnie Burton resigned in May (see Daily GPI, May 9). Luthi, who had been deputy director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is a former speaker and majority leader of the Wyoming House of Representatives. The Interior Department press release particularly pointed out that Luthi had been a legislative member of the Energy Council, an organization of representatives of producing states and energy-related industries. And in Wyoming “Luthi was instrumental in formulation of state budgets which relied heavily upon royalties and severance taxes paid by energy companies developing federal leases,” the release said. Burton, who had served as MMS director for five years, had been accused of not being aggressive enough in collecting all of the oil and gas royalties due to the government from offshore leases and in recovering lost royalties from flawed leases.

Underscoring its $2 billion bet so far, with more to come, in Mexican energy projects, San Diego-based Sempra Energy announced Tuesday it has named a Mexican investment banker, Carlos Ruiz Sacristan, to its board of directors as an 11th member. Ruiz, 57, once headed Mexico’s national oil company Pemex as general director (1988-94) and has served in several federal government posts, including budget undersecretary. A partner in Proyectos Estrategicos Integrales, a Mexican investment banking firm, Ruiz also serves on the board of Southern Copper Corp., a copper producer in Mexico and Peru. (Sempra’s global trading business, which concentrates on energy, also includes trading in various metals.) “With his extensive experience in Mexico’s energy and finance sectors, Carolos Ruiz Sacristan will be an excellent addition to our board,” said Donald Felsinger, Sempra CEO, noting that the company collectively has nearly $2 billion invested in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal that will open next year along the North Baja California Pacific Coast, natural gas pipelines and a power generation plant, all in North Baja California. It also has gas distribution systems in other states in Mexico. Prior to joining his current investment bank in 2001, Ruiz spent nearly six years serving as Mexico’s secretary of communications and transportation. In that post, he oversaw the reshaping the nation’s communications and transportation sectors to increase investment, broaden competition and improve infrastructure, Felsinger said. From 1974 until 1988 when he took over Pemex, Ruiz held positions of increasing responsibility at Banco de Mexico, and during that time some of his experience included serving on boards of several financial institutions and other public companies and commissions.