Ultra Petroleum Hires Industry Vet as New GC

A 25-year veteran of the in-house energy industry has joined a Colorado-based natural gas producer as its new top lawyer.

Ultra Petroleum Corp. of Englewood, Colorado, announced that Andrew Kidd has been named senior vice president and general counsel, succeeding the company’s former legal boss, Garrett Smith, who did not want to relocate from Houston, according to a statement announcing Kidd's hiring.

Earlier this year, Ultra announced that it would move its headquarters this past September to metro Denver following its emergence last year from bankruptcy.

Kidd has a strong background in managing legal risk related to oil and gas operations, drilling and development, as well as experience in corporate and project finance and mergers and acquisitions, the statement said.

Kidd, who could not immediately be reached for comment, serves on the boards of HighPoint Resources and GenOn Americas Generation and has been providing legal consulting services to institutional investors in the energy industry, according to his Ultra online bio. Prior to these roles, he held the top lawyer position at Samson Investment Co. and Samson Resources, Anthem Energy and Quantum Utility Generation.

From August 2004 to December 2008, Kidd was with Constellation Energy Group Inc., serving in various positions, including deputy GC and GC at Constellation Energy Resources, a Constellation business organization.

Earlier in his career, he served as SVP and deputy GC at El Paso Corp.—where he was part of the in-house team that oversaw a merger between Enterprise Products Partners and GulfTerra, a majority interest in which was owned by El Paso—and held various officer-level positions at Covanta Energy Inc.

A graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law, Kidd began his law career as an associate in the Baltimore office of DLA Piper.

In addition to Kidd, Ultra also announced the appointment of a new chief financial officer, who is also succeeding an executive who did not want to relocate from Houston.

“We are excited to have new CFO David Honeyfield and Kidd join the Ultra Petroleum executive team,” Ultra interim CEO Brad Johnson said in the statement. “Both have extensive backgrounds in the oil and gas industry and I am confident that their expertise and leadership will immediately contribute to the future growth and success of Ultra.”