Autry Stephens, Texas oil billionaire and wildcatter, dies at 86
Adds day of death in paragraph 2, commentary from Javaid Anwar in 11-14
By Arathy Somasekhar
HOUSTON, Aug 16 (Reuters) -Autry Stephens, the billionaire founder and chairman of Endeavor Energy Resources, has died aged 86, the company disclosed on Friday, after a prolonged battle with cancer.
Stephens died early on Friday morning, a source familiar with the matter said.
Known for a relentless work ethic and frugal nature, he had continued to work while under medical care and relied on friends to fly him in a private jet to cancer treatments in Houston.
His work ethic was shaped by tough years in the 1980s and 1990s when he struggled to get Endeavor off the ground, sources said. The wildcatter launched Endeavor in 1979 and grew it into one of the largest closely held U.S. oil and gas firms by buying tough-to-drill wells that oil majors snubbed.
Stephens in February agreed to sell his Midland, Texas-based company for $26 billion to local rival Diamondback Energy FANG.O. He had rebuffed many offers for the business over the years. The deal is expected to close later this year.
Stephens' daughter, Lyndal Greth, becomes chairman of Endeavor's board of managers, the company said on Friday. Greth was previously vice chairman.
Born in 1938, Stephens grew up on a farm in DeLeon, Texas, where his family grew peanuts and fruits. He studied engineering and went to work for Humble Oil & Refining, a predecessor to Exxon Mobil XOM.N, according to a profile on the University of Texas' engineering school website.
Stephens drilled his first well in 1979 in Midland county, Texas. He would pick up leaseholds for acreage that oil majors found too expensive to drill and would lower production costs by handling most of the operations. He created and used his own fracking, construction and trucking companies.
Stephens was well known in Midland, Texas, the heart of the U.S. shale business, and for bringing his dog to his office regularly. He named one of his companies Big Dog Drilling.
"He was stubborn and persistent. And in the right place at the right time," said Javaid Anwar, a Texas businessman who first met Stephens 1976 while working at a bank in Midland.
The two became friends in the years that followed through numerous fishing trips and business deals.
"He was a fish hog," joked Anwar, recounting how Stephens used to take up his coveted turns to reel in catch on their fishing trips.
Anwar helped fly Stephens to Houston on his private jet for cancer treatments over the past year, which gave the two the opportunity to look back at old memories from their time in the oil business.
"He was one of the pioneers of horizontal drilling that helped the Permian come to produce nearly 6.5 million barrels of oil per day, roughly half of the U.S. total," Anwar said.
Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; additional reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Sandra Maler
Ultime news
Disclaimer: le entità di XM Group forniscono servizi di sola esecuzione e accesso al nostro servizio di trading online, che permette all'individuo di visualizzare e/o utilizzare i contenuti disponibili sul sito o attraverso di esso; non ha il proposito di modificare o espandere le proprie funzioni, né le modifica o espande. L'accesso e l'utilizzo sono sempre soggetti a: (i) Termini e condizioni; (ii) Avvertenza sui rischi e (iii) Disclaimer completo. Tali contenuti sono perciò forniti a scopo puramente informativo. Nello specifico, ti preghiamo di considerare che i contenuti del nostro servizio di trading online non rappresentano un sollecito né un'offerta ad operare sui mercati finanziari. Il trading su qualsiasi mercato finanziario comporta un notevole livello di rischio per il tuo capitale.
Tutto il materiale pubblicato sul nostro servizio di trading online è unicamente a scopo educativo e informativo, e non contiene (e non dovrebbe essere considerato come contenente) consigli e raccomandazioni di carattere finanziario, di trading o fiscale, né informazioni riguardanti i nostri prezzi di trading, offerte o solleciti riguardanti transazioni che possano coinvolgere strumenti finanziari, oppure promozioni finanziarie da te non richieste.
Tutti i contenuti di terze parti, oltre ai contenuti offerti da XM, siano essi opinioni, news, ricerca, analisi, prezzi, altre informazioni o link a siti di terzi presenti su questo sito, sono forniti "così com'è", e vanno considerati come commenti generali sui mercati; per questo motivo, non possono essere visti come consigli di investimento. Dato che tutti i contenuti sono intesi come ricerche di investimento, devi considerare e accettare che non sono stati preparati né creati seguendo i requisiti normativi pensati per promuovere l'indipendenza delle ricerche di investimento; per questo motivo, questi contenuti devono essere considerati come comunicazioni di marketing in base alle leggi e normative vigenti. Assicurati di avere letto e compreso pienamente la nostra Notifica sulla ricerca di investimento non indipendente e la nostra Informativa sul rischio riguardante le informazioni sopra citate; tali documenti sono consultabili qui.