Two Oklahoma energy executives receive recognition for leadership
Two Oklahoma energy executives this week received recognition for their leadership.
Larry Nichols, Devon Energy Corp.’s founder and chairman emeritus, on Monday was named the inaugural recipient of the Shale Visionary Award given by Hart Energy.
Archie W. Dunham, chairman emeritus of Chesapeake Energy Corp. and retired chairman of ConocoPhillips, was recognized with the Oklahoma Trailblazer Award from the University of Oklahoma’s Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy.
Nichols co-founded Devon with his father in 1971. He accepted the Shale Visionary Award at Hart’s annual Executive Oil Conference in Midland, Texas. Under Nichols’ leadership, Devon helped create the shale revolution when the company bought hydraulic fracturing innovator Mitchell Energy. Devon expanded Mitchell’s fracking program and applied the process to horizontal wells.
“Thanks to Larry Nichols’ vision, Devon looked at George Mitchell’s Barnett program in 2001, bought it and took it lateral,” Nissa Darbone, editor-at-large of Hart Energy’s Oil and gas Investor magazine, said while presenting the award.
“Devon, under Larry Nichols’ leadership, made it a world changer with the successful introduction of the fractured lateral. Here we are today, with Devon continuing to lead the industry in new technology, honoring Larry for his leadership in a newly assured American energy future.”
Nichols became Devon’s CEO in 1980, chairman in 2000 and executive chairman in 2010.
“Today, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are commonplace across our industry — standard operating procedure,” Nichols said in a statement. “It’s nice to be reminded that this was not always the case, and it started at Devon. We were trying to solve a simple problem back in 2002; how to get natural gas out of North Texas’ Barnett Shale without producing water from the Ellenberger formation beneath it. We did it, and the technique quickly revolutionized our entire industry.”
Dunham was recognized for his leadership in separating Conoco from DuPont in 1998, negotiating the merger of Conoco with Phillips and for his service at Chesapeake.
“Archie Dunham is not only an unquestioned leader in the energy industry, he is also a great advocate for education and for giving opportunities to young people,” OU President David L. Boren said in a statement. “He and his wife Linda have been generous contributors to the University of Oklahoma and its mission.”
Dunham previously has been named an OU distinguished graduate and has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the university.