President

Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil Corp. for the past decade, is being floated by President-elect Trump as his pick for secretary of state.

The West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association (WVONGA) has hired Anne C. Blankenship as executive director. An energy attorney at Babst Calland’s Charleston office, Blankenship has nearly 15 years of experience working in the industry. She previously served as WVONGA’s chief counsel. The appointment ends a search that was launched by the organization’s board of directors to replace Nicholas “Corky” DeMarco, who died unexpectedly in July. Babst Calland works on behalf of the industry throughout the Appalachian Basin. Blankenship “has a deep background in law and environmental regulations and is a skilled communicator,” said board President Maribeth Anderson. Blankenship starts the new job on Nov. 28.

President-elect Donald J. Trump, set to take office following a stunning upset of Hillary Clinton, is poised to sweep away renewable energy initiatives and stringent oversight launched by the Obama administration and enact an all-of-the-above energy strategy, experts said Wednesday.

Sara N. Ortwein has become president of ExxonMobil Corp.’s onshore subsidiary XTO Energy Inc.and will be based in Fort Worth, TX. Ortwein, who previously served as president of ExxonMobil Upstream Research Co., takes over from Randy Cleveland. Ortwein joined predecessor Exxon Co. U.S.A. in 1980 as a drilling engineer. In 1997, she was named reservoir evaluation and planning manager for Exxon Ventures CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), focusing on new venture pursuit and capture in Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Ortwein in 2001 became a corporate upstream adviser to senior management and three years later was named production manager for U.S.-operated production. Ortwein was named vice president of engineering in 2006 for ExxonMobil Development Co. The Houston native earned a bachelor of science in civil engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

With Sempra Energy President Mark Snell, 60, planning to retire March 1, two corporate arms with separate presidents are being created and other promotions have been announced by CEO Debra Reed. The new infrastructure businesses, including midstream, liquefied natural gas, renewables and Mexico, is to be run by current CFO Joseph Householder, 61. Steven Davis, 60, executive vice president (EVP) for external affairs and corporate strategy, would become group president for the new utilities arm. San Diego Gas and Electric Co. (SDG&E) CEO Jeffrey Martin, 54, has been tapped as Sempra’s new CFO. Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) CEO Dennis Arriola, 55, is to become EVP for external affairs. Also promoted is Patricia Wagner, 54, now CEO of Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, who would become CEO of SoCalGas, while SoCalGas COO J. Bret Lane, 57, also would become president. SDG&E’s chief energy supply officer Scott Drury, 51, is to become the utility’s president, while Caroline Winn, 53, chief energy delivery officer, was named COO.

Canadian producers and field contractors are emerging stronger than ever from the two-year ordeal of paring down to cope with low oil, natural gas and liquid byproduct prices, company leaders told a two-day investor conference in Calgary.

Rosemead, CA-based Edison International (EI) CEO Ted Craver will retire Sept. 30, and the current head of its Southern California Edison Co. (SCE), Pedro Pizarro, will succeed him as CEO. EI independent director William Sullivan will become a non-executive chairman. In the interim, Pizarro will be president and a board member of EI, replacing Craver in the president’s role ahead of his retirement. A senior vice president at SCE, Kevin Payne, becomes president of the utility on Wednesday, replacing Pizarro. In addition, EI CFO Jim Scilacci will retire Sept. 30, replaced at that time as senior vice president and CFO by Maria Rigatti, the current SCE CFO. Current SCE Vice President and Treasurer William Petmecky will succeed Rigatti as the utility CFO at that time.

Baker Hughes Inc. is realigning its operations by changing up organization and senior leadership as part of a strategy to simplify after the mega-merger with Halliburton Co. fell through.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. said Scott D. Sheffield will retire as the company’s CEO effective Dec. 31. Pioneer’s board approved a transition plan under which President and COO Timothy L. Dove will succeed Sheffield as president CEO. Sheffield will continue as executive chairman through Dec. 31, 2017 at which time he will retire as an executive and employee of the company but remain on the board. Sheffield joined Pioneer’s predecessor company, Parker & Parsley, as a petroleum engineer in 1979. Dove joined Parker & Parsley in 1994 as vice president of business development and was promoted to senior vice president in 1996 where he served until the formation of Pioneer in 1997. In 2004, Dove was named president and COO. He was elected to the board of directors in 2013.