Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH&Co.) announced Nov. 20 that Martin Houston, former COO of BG Group Plc, has been named chairman - TPH International, helping the integrated energy investment bank further grow its global presence.

In this newly created role at TPH&Co., Houston, 56, will work closely with TPH’s Calgary and London offices in further expanding the firm’s cross-border presence in those markets, as well as provide industry expertise in the global gas and LNG markets.

“We have known Martin and the caliber of his work for years,” said Bobby Tudor, chairman and CEO of TPH&Co, in a statement. “We will rely on Martin’s operational and financial expertise in the growing global gas markets, as well as other arenas. His background and extensive network will resonate with clients at TPH, particularly in the Asian, Australian, and Latin American markets, which are of increasing importance to TPH. We look forward to working directly with him as we continue to grow TPH’s presence worldwide.”

Houston joined BG Group in the early 1980s, after earning a bachelor’s degree in geology at Newcastle University and a petroleum geology master’s degree from Imperial College London, and was serving on the board of directors when he retired in early 2014 as the COO.

During his career at BG, Houston was a key architect of the firm’s highly regarded LNG business. Houston is the founding member of Parallax Energy and also serves as a director of BUPA, an international health care group; a senior advisor to Pine Brook Road Partners, a private equity firm; and a director of CCC Energy.

Houston also sits on the National Petroleum Council (U.S.) and is a companion of the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers as well as a Fellow of the Geological Society of London.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, TPH&Co. also has offices in London, Calgary, New York and Denver. TPH’s 160 employees focus on the upstream, midstream, oilfield services, power and other energy infrastructure market segments, and cover more than 170 companies through the equity research division.