BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- MDU Resources Group Inc. named a BP executive as the new president and chief executive of its natural gas and oil production business on Monday.
The Bismarck company said Kent Wells has worked for more than 30 years in the oil and gas industry, with BP and Amoco. He also was a key figure in BP's efforts to plug the largest oil spill in U.S. history after the Deepwater Horizon explosion last year.
MDU President and Chief Executive Terry Hildestad said Wells will begin work at MDU's Fidelity Exploration & Production Co. on May 2. Wells will be based at Fidelity's Denver headquarters.
Wells "has a strong track record in natural gas and oil production, including shale formations similar to our current development focus," Hildestad said in a statement. "He also has firsthand experience in the Rockies and Texas, where a large portion of Fidelity's reserves are concentrated."
Wells, 54, was senior vice president of exploration and production for BP's U.S. natural gas operations from 2007 until late last year, when he was named BP's group senior vice president for global deepwater response. He was responsible for BP's onshore natural gas business throughout the U.S.
MDU is North Dakota's sole Fortune 500 company and has interests in energy, mining and construction. The group said it posted a 2010 profit of $240 million, compared to a previous-year loss of $124 million. The company said its business last year was helped by a boost in oil production and the sale of its ownership interest in electric transmission lines in Brazil.
The Bismarck company said Kent Wells has worked for more than 30 years in the oil and gas industry, with BP and Amoco. He also was a key figure in BP's efforts to plug the largest oil spill in U.S. history after the Deepwater Horizon explosion last year.
MDU President and Chief Executive Terry Hildestad said Wells will begin work at MDU's Fidelity Exploration & Production Co. on May 2. Wells will be based at Fidelity's Denver headquarters.
Wells "has a strong track record in natural gas and oil production, including shale formations similar to our current development focus," Hildestad said in a statement. "He also has firsthand experience in the Rockies and Texas, where a large portion of Fidelity's reserves are concentrated."
Wells, 54, was senior vice president of exploration and production for BP's U.S. natural gas operations from 2007 until late last year, when he was named BP's group senior vice president for global deepwater response. He was responsible for BP's onshore natural gas business throughout the U.S.
MDU is North Dakota's sole Fortune 500 company and has interests in energy, mining and construction. The group said it posted a 2010 profit of $240 million, compared to a previous-year loss of $124 million. The company said its business last year was helped by a boost in oil production and the sale of its ownership interest in electric transmission lines in Brazil.