IN THE MONEY: Sulphco Gets New CEO, But Questions Remain
By Carol S. Remond
08/09/2001
Dow Jones News Service
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Sulphco Inc. (SLPH) got itself a new chief executive. One week after Mark Cullen was fired by founder, chairman and controlling shareholder Rudolph Gunnerman, former Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) executive Stan McLelland has taken over the reins of Sulphco, a development stage company that claims to be able to remove sulfur , a pollutant, from gasoline and diesel fuels.
"McLelland was elected new CEO of the company by the board of directors last week," Gunnerman said Thursday afternoon in an interview. Another member of the board confirmed the appointment.
McLelland joined Valero Corp. in 1981 and rose to executive vice president and general counsel before leaving the San Antonio petroleum refiner in August 1997. A large Democratic party donor, McLelland is fresh off a tour of duty as U.S. ambassador to Jamaica. The executive wasn't immediately available for comment.
It's unclear whether McLelland's experience in the oil industry will help Sulphco restore some investor confidence in its stock, which has recently come under stress after peaking at about $11 a share in early May.
Sulphco's stock closed 3.7% higher Thursday at $1.40.
In a June 21 column, Dow Jones Newswires reported that Sulphco lagged in telling investors about key developments, including the fact that engineering giant Bechtel Corp. had terminated its partnership with Sulphco, a fact that Sulphco had failed to make clear in press releases and regulatory filings.
Doubts remain about Sulphco's desulfurization technology.
Sinclair Oil Co., which has been working closely with Sulphco in developing the desulfurization technology since early this year, said last week that it was unable to replicate results outside of Sulphco's own facilities in Reno, Nev.
Sinclair declined to comment on the matter Thursday.
For his part, Gunnerman said Sinclair was "satisfied" with its last round of testing in Reno which took place last week.
If true, Sulphco's claim that it can remove most sulfur from fuel could be worth millions of dollars, especially given tough new federal environmental standards requiring a 90% reduction in sulfur content by 2006. |
