Hilcorp names Barnes as Alaska head

Hilcorp Energy Co. said Oct. 10 that it has named John Barnes senior vice president for its subsidiary, Hilcorp Alaska LLC. He will be based in Anchorage and will oversee Alaska operations for Hilcorp.

Hilcorp is buying Chevron’s Cook Inlet assets, a process expected to close by the end of the year.

Barnes, formerly with Marathon in Alaska and most recently senior vice president of operations and maintenance services for CH2MHill, brings both producer and contractor experience to his new position, Hilcorp said.

Houston-based Hilcorp, a privately held independent oil and gas exploration company, is expanding its operations into Alaska with the purchase of Chevron’s interests in Cook Inlet.

Chevron and Hilcorp said when the acquisition was announced in July that it is expected to close by the end of the year subject to necessary regulatory approvals.

Barnes has worked Alaska assets both as a producer and as a contractor. He was Alaska production operations manager for Marathon Oil Co. in Cook Inlet until 2007 and, most recently, senior vice president of operations and maintenance services for CH2MHill, responsible for global operations including Alaska North Slope, Kenai and Russia.

Barnes graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a petroleum engineering degree in 1980 and jointed Marathon, working in reservoir engineering, production operations and management in Alaska, West Texas, the North Sea and Houston. He joined CH2MHill in 2008.

Hilcorp, founded in 1989, has 700 employees and nine operating areas including the Gulf Coast region, the Gulf of Mexico and the Rockies.

—Petroleum News