Arco Exec Hired to Run Alaska Operation

Phillips Petroleum Co. said it has hired Atlantic Richfield Co.’s top Alaska executive to head its operations in that state. The announcement came as Phillips concluded its $7-billion purchase of Arco’s properties in Alaska, Kevin Meyers will be president and chief executive for the new company, to be called Phillips Alaska Inc. “We can see no other individual who would provide the leadership and direction that we want,” said Jim Mulva, chairman and chief executive for Phillips, based in Bartlesville, Okla. Meyers, 46, rose through the Arco ranks during his 20-year career with the company to become president and CEO of Arco Alaska Inc., for years the state’s second-largest oil producer, in 1998. Los Angeles-based Arco was taken over earlier this month by BP Amoco in a $27-billion deal. Federal regulators required BP to sell Arco Alaska as a condition of approving the merger.