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Smith named chairman at NFG

Vows to continue expansion efforts

By David Robinson

March 12, 2010

 David F. Smith, National Fuel Gas Co.’s president and chief executive officer, was named Thursday to the additional role of chairman of the Amherst-based energy company.

Smith inherits the chairman title from Philip C. Ackerman, 66, the former National Fuel president and chief executive officer, who will continue to serve as a member of the company’s board of directors. Ackerman had been the company’s chairman since 2002.

National Fuel, under former CEOs Louis R. Reif, Bernard J. Kennedy, Ackerman and now Smith, has branched out beyond its traditional utility base in Western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania to expand into the pipeline and natural gas storage business, as well as oil and gas drilling.

Smith vowed Thursday to continue with those efforts, while praising Ackerman’s “steady hand and strong leadership” during his more than 40- year tenure at National Fuel.

Under Smith, National Fuel has been rapidly expanding its drilling operations in northwestern Pennsylvania to tap into the potentially rich pockets of natural gas locked into geological formations in the Marcellus Shale region.

Relatively new drilling techniques that allow energy producers to drill horizontally through shale are making it possible to reach vast new supplies of natural gas. The process, known as hydrofracking, has raised concerns from environmentalists worried about the large amounts of water the process uses and its potential impact on drinking water supplies.

National Fuel has been adding to the acreage in Pennsylvania where it holds the rights to drill and increasing its budget for drilling wells in the region.

The company in November increased its spending plans for drilling in the Marcellus region by 50 percent from the budget it initially outlined in August. National Fuel’s current plans call for the company to spend $190 million to $210 million on new Marcellus wells during the current fiscal year that began in October.

The elevation of Smith to the chairman’s role completes his steady advancement up National Fuel’s executive ranks. Smith, 56, joined the company in 1978 and held a variety of executive posts at the firm, culminating with his 2006 promotion to succeed Ackerman as president and his 2008 appointment to replace Ackerman as chief executive officer.

Smith, a graduate of Fredonia State College and the University at Buffalo Law School, was named to the company’s board in 2007.