Steven

Despite the economic downturn and a drop in natural gas prices there has not been much of a decline in demand, according to Steven Reich, acting director of FERC’s Office of Enforcement.

Steven L. Mueller has been promoted to CEO of Southwestern Energy Co. Mueller joined Southwestern in June 2008 as president and COO. A graduate of the Colorado School of Mines, Mueller previously worked for Tenneco Oil Co., Fina Oil Co., American Exploration Co., Belco Oil & Gas Co., The Houston Exploration Co. and CDX Gas LLC. Harold M. Korell, who is stepping down as Southwestern’s CEO, was appointed to serve as executive chairman until his retirement in early 2010, after which he would become the nonexecutive chairman.

Breathing fresh life into the possibility of new coal-fired power plant development, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu late last week pledged that $2.4 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be used to expand and accelerate commercial deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said last Wednesday that while the country faces a number of challenges with electricity infrastructure in an ever-changing environment, the new administration is ready to promote a new, more intelligent system through green-lighting loan guarantees for new projects and investing in the nation’s smart grid and in new sources of renewable energy.

Apache Corp. CEO G. Steven Farris has formed an office of the chief executive, which will include CFO Roger B. Plank, Co-COO John A. Crum and Co-COO Rodney J. Eichler. Plank, Crum and Eichler have separate functional responsibilities, but “they will have joint and equal roles in the daily decision making and direction of the company,” Farris said. In addition to his current responsibilities, Plank will lead the business development, internal audit and policy and governance groups. Crum will lead the Gulf Coast, central and Canada regions, as well as the worldwide drilling, corporate environmental health and safety and purchasing groups. Eichler will lead the North Sea, Egypt, Australia and Argentina regions.

Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu were sworn in Wednesday at the White House as secretaries of the departments of Interior and Energy, respectively.

The Energy Department secretary nominee, eminent physicist Steven Chu, sailed unscathed last week through an extensive round of questions from Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee members, who generally indicated their respect and support for the Nobel laureate and director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Members then launched into their pet projects, spanning a wide range of energy options for the new administration to pursue.

The Energy Department secretary nominee, eminent physicist Steven Chu, sailed unscathed Tuesday through an extensive round of questions from Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee members, who generally indicated their respect and support for the Nobel laureate and director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Members then launched into their pet projects, spanning a wide range of energy options for the new administration to pursue.

President-elect Barack Obama has picked Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu, who runs the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California, to be secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) in his administration, and has selected experienced regulators to oversee three other offices dealing with energy, environmental and climate-change issues, Washington sources said. No formal announcement had been issued Thursday morning.