Association News

Pipeline & Gas Journal, May, 2001

The board of directors and officers of Gas Technology Institute (GTI) were elected at the organization's recent annual meeting. The Board elected the following to serve one-year terms as officers of GTI: Thomas L. Fisher, chairman, president and CEO, Nicor Gas, as chairman; and John F. Riordan, as president and CEO. Re-elected to represent the gas industry for four-year terms ending in April 2005 were: Robert W. Best, chairman, president and CEO, Atmos Energy Corporation; Richard E. Terry, chairman and CEO, Peoples Energy Corporation; R. Don Cash, chairman, president and CEO, Questar Corporation;

Elected to represent the gas industry for a four-year term ending in April 2005 is: James H. Smith, president and CEO, The Southeast Alabama Gas District. Elected to represent the gas industry for one-year terms ending in April 2002 were: Phil Lowry, managing director, operations and technical services, Enron Transportation Services Company, succeeding Stanley C. Horton, chairman and CEO, Enron Transportation Services Company; Michael L. Johnson, vice president and general manager, Natural Gas and Gas Products, Conoco Inc., succeeding Dr. John R. Hopkins, vice president, exploration/production technology, Conoco Inc.

GTI has 374 member companies. Those members elect 24 directors to represent the gas industry, and those 24 directors elect 12 other directors to represent gas consumers. (The person elected as president of GTI is also) an ex officio member of the board of directors.) In general, directors are elected for staggered four-year terms.

Exxon Mobil Corporation has won the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) 2000 Safety in Seas Award. The winning entry is ExxonMobil's Hoover-Diana Project. The award, presented at a ceremony in Washington, DC, on April 2, was in recognition of excellence by companies who have made the most important contribution to safety offshore. The Hoover-Diana Project represents a world-class achievement for ExxonMobil in many respects, from a world water depth record for a drilling and production platform, to state of the art technology adaptation for deep-water production systems. The Hoover and Diana fields are located 200 miles south of Houston, in 4,800 feet of water and contain estimated recoverable resources exceeding 300 million boe.

Evan R. Gaddis has been named president of the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association (GAMA). He succeeds C. Reuben Autery, who is retiring after 13 years of service.

The New England Gas Association (NEGA) recently held its annual energy conference in Boston,--the 75th anniversary of the organization. At the meeting, the Association members elected the officers and board of directors for the 2001-2002 year. Russell D. Wright, president and COO, NSTAR, was elected chairman of the association. Elected, as vice chairman was Craig R. Frew, president of the Iroquois Gas Transmission System. Other elected officers are: Joseph F. Bodanza of KeySpan Energy Delivery New England, as treasurer and clerk; Robert J. weafer, Jr. of NSTAR, as assistant treasurer; and Thomas M. Kiley of The New England Gas Association, president.

Newly elected members of the board of directors are: A. Donald Gilbert, Jr., of Vermont Gas Systems, Inc.; Charles W. Kiely of NSTAR; James P. Laurito of the Connecticut Natural Gas Corp., The Southern Connecticut Gas Company; Kenneth Margossian of Bay State Gas Company; Charles K. Meunier of Valley Gas Company; David Moynihan of the Portland Natural Gas Transmission System; Harry I. Skilton of American Meter Company; and Dennis E. Welch of Yankee Gas Services Company.

More than 250 industry and government officials attended the NEGA conference. Topics addressed included the national outlook for natural gas demand and supply, the new gas supply projects being developed off Eastern Canada, the differences between the New England and California electricity markets, and factors behind the recent volatility in energy prices.