When Red Cavaney leaves his perch this week after 11 years as president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute to become the top Washington lobbyist for ConocoPhillips, he'll have more clout than the head of a D.C. corporate office could dream of having. Not only will Cavaney report directly to Conoco CEO James Mulva, he'll also have a seat on the company's elite management committee.

Meanwhile, back at API -- the industry's top lobbying arm -- there's been an intriguing change on the board. J. Larry Nichols, the CEO of Oklahoma-based Devon Energy, was tapped to be API chairman even though he is not an executive at one of the integrated oil majors.

                                                                                                         -- Peter H. Stone