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OGE Corp. hires new accounting chief

OGE Energy Corp. has named Sarah Stafford controller and chief accounting officer effective March 1, company officials announced.

Stafford will succeed Scott Forbes, who announced he is stepping away from his role as the company’s principal accounting officer, as he plans to retire midyear.

Officials said Forbes will work with Stafford to ensure a smooth transition process.

“I’m pleased to appoint Sarah to this critical role,” said OGE Energy CEO Sean Trauschke. “She brings a breadth and depth of experience to our accounting team that will help ensure our continued recognition as one of the country’s most trustworthy companies.

“During his tenure, Scott brought the commitment and focus to our accounting function that established OGE as a benchmark company. I want to thank him for his service and wish him the best as he closes out his career.”

Stafford, 36, joined OGE in October 2016 as an accounting research officer, where she’s been doing accounting research into all aspects of Oklahoma Gas and Electric’s business, including regulatory and property issues.

Previously, she served as a senior manager in the assurance practice at Ernst & Young, specializing in regulated utility clients.

Stafford earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Oklahoma State University, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Enable announces quarterly distribution

Enable Midstream Partners has announced its board has authorized a quarterly cash distribution of about 32 cents a unit.

Officials said the distribution, which will be paid Feb. 27 to unit holders of record at the close of business Feb. 20, is unchanged from one the company issued before the end of last year.

It also announced it will pay a distribution of 62.5 cents on preferred units today to people who held those at the close of business Feb. 9.

Enable owns, operates and develops natural gas and crude oil transportation, processing and storage assets, including more than 13,000 miles of gathering pipelines, 7,800 miles of interstate pipelines, 2,200 miles of intrastate pipelines, 2.6 billion cubic feet per day of processing capacity and eight storage facilities with 85 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. Visit enablemidstream.com for more information.

Laredo reports fourth-quarter profits

TULSA — Laredo Petroleum Inc. on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $408.6 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, the Tulsa-based company said it had profit of $1.70. Earnings, adjusted for nonrecurring gains, were 19 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 17 cents per share.

The oil and natural gas company posted revenue of $240.3 million in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $201.6 million.

For the year, the company reported net income of $549 million, or $2.29 per share, swinging to a profit in the period. Revenue was reported as $822.2 million.

Williams declares Q4 income of $1.7B

TULSA — Williams Cos. on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $1.69 billion, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

The Tulsa-based company said it had net income of $2.03 per share. Earnings, adjusted for nonrecurring gains and pretax gains, came to 20 cents per share.

The pipeline operator posted revenue of $2.23 billion in the period.

For the year, the company reported net income of $2.17 billion, or $2.62 per share, swinging to a profit in the period. Revenue was reported as $8.03 billion.

Williams Partners LP reports Q4 losses

TULSA — Williams Partners LP on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $342 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, the Tulsa-based company said it had a loss of 35 cents. Earnings, adjusted for pretax expenses, were 39 cents per share.

The energy infrastructure company posted revenue of $2.22 billion in the period.

For the year, the company reported net income of $871 million, or 90 cents per share, swinging to a profit in the period. Revenue was reported as $8.01 billion.