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Houston energy co. names new COO to scale offshore decommissioning

new hire

Promethean Energy has named Martyn Fear as its new COO. Photo courtesy Promethean Energy.

Houston-based Promethean Energy has named a new COO as it looks to scale.

Martyn Fear, former CEO of Altamesa Energy Canada Inc., will assume the role, the company announced last week. He brings decades of experience at energy companies such as BP and Maersk Oil and has held board positions at several private equity and venture-backed firms.

“Promethean has built a differentiated platform for managing and retiring late-life assets safely, efficiently, and responsibly,” Fear said in a news release. “The industry is facing a structural shift as decommissioning moves to the forefront, and the opportunity to combine operational excellence, disciplined project delivery, and innovative commercial models is incredibly compelling."

Promethean has developed an environmentally sustainable, integrated model for late-life asset management and offshore well decommissioning. Fear will oversee day-to-day operations at Promethean and the execution of this integrated operator-service model as the company looks to scale and expand to new markets.

“Martyn is a proven leader with a deep operational track record and a passion for building high-performance, safety-first organizations,” Aditya Singh, Promethean's CEO, added in the release. “As Promethean enters its next phase—scaling our integrated operator-service model and delivering first-time-right decommissioning at pace—his experience in transforming complex asset portfolios and leading global teams makes him the ideal COO to drive operational execution while we continue to advance our strategic vision.”

Last May, the company successfully decommissioned offshore orphaned wells in the Matagorda Island lease area. In November, it also announced that it had completed a multi-client project to safely plug and abandon an orphaned well on a storm-damaged platform in the South Timbalier lease area.

Both projects were based in the Gulf of Mexico, where Promethean is looking to grow.

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Jesus Soto Jr., an energy executive with deep Houston ties, will join CenterPoint Energy as COO and executive vice president on Aug. 11. Photo courtesy CenterPoint Energy.

CenterPoint Energy names new COO as resiliency initiatives continue

new hire

CenterPoint Energy has named Jesus Soto Jr. as its new executive vice president and chief operating officer.

An energy industry veteran with deep ties to Texas, Soto will oversee the company's electric operations, gas operations, safety, supply chain, and customer care functions. The company says Soto will also focus on improving reliability and meeting the increased energy needs in the states CenterPoint serves.

"We are pleased to be able to welcome a leader of Jesus Soto's caliber to CenterPoint's executive team,” Jason Wells, CEO and president of CenterPoint, said in a news release. “We have one of the most dynamic growth stories in the industry, and over the next five years we will deliver over $31 billion of investments across our footprint as part of our capital plan. Jesus's deep understanding and background are the perfect match to help us deliver this incredible scope of work at-pace that will foster the economic development and growth demands in our key markets. He will also be instrumental in helping us continue to focus on improving safety and delivering better reliability for all the communities we are fortunate to serve.”

Soto comes to CenterPoint with over 30 years of experience in leading large teams and executing large scale capital projects. As a longtime Houstonian, he served in roles as executive vice president of Quanta Services and COO for Mears Group Inc. He also served in senior leadership roles at other utility and energy companies, including PG&E Corporation in Northern California and El Paso Corp. in Houston.

Soto has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso, and a master's degree in civil engineering from Texas A&M University. He has a second master's degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.

“I'm excited to join CenterPoint's high-performing team,” Soto said in the news release. “It's a true privilege to be able to serve our 7 million customers in Texas, Indiana, Ohio and Minnesota. We have an incredible amount of capital work ahead of us to help meet the growing energy needs of our customers and communities, especially across Texas.”

Soto will join the company on Aug. 11 and report to Wells as CenterPoint continues on its Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative and Systemwide Resiliency Plan.

“To help realize our resiliency and growth goals, I look forward to helping our teams deliver this work safely while helping our customers experience better outcomes,” Soto added in the news release. “They expect, and deserve, no less.”

Debalina Sengupta has been named as the chief operating officer of UH's Energy Transition Institute. Photo via UH.edu

University of Houston names new energy transition-focused executive

leading the way

The University of Houston has named a new C-level executive to its energy transition-focused initiative.

Debalina Sengupta has been named as the chief operating officer of UH's Energy Transition Institute, which was established in 2022 by a $10 million commitment from Shell USA Inc. and Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. The institute focuses on hydrogen, carbon management and circular plastics and works closely with UH’s Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute and researchers across the university.

Sengupta, who was previously a chemical engineer with over 18 years of experience with sustainability and resilience issues, was called to ETI’s mission and its focus on Houston, which is home to more than 4,500 energy companies and a pivotal international oil and gas hub.

“UH Energy Transition Institute is the first of its kind Institute setup in Texas that focuses solely on the transition of energy,” she says in a news release. “A two-way communication between the academic community and various stakeholders is necessary to implement the transition and I saw the UH ETI role enabling me to achieve this critical goal.”

Originally from India, where she saw first-hand the impact of natural disasters, she has been working with Texas coastal communities over the past two years to not help bring coastal resilience projects along the coast. The Texas coast will serve potentially as an economic development zone for several energy transition projects.

“It is necessary that we think deeply about sustainability quantification for our energy systems, diversify and expand from fossil to non-fossil resources, and understand how it can impact our future generations,” Sengupta continues. “This requires rigorous training and adopting new technologies that will enable the change, and I am dedicated to work towards this goal for UH ETI.”

Sengupta has also worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Jadavpur University in India and a doctorate from Louisiana State University with a focus on process systems engineering. Sengupta previously was at Texas A&M University where she was the Coastal Resilience Program director for Texas Sea Grant,which is a federal-state partnership program funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She has served as the associate director of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station’s Gas and Fuels Research Center; coordinator of the Water, Energy and Food Nexus at Texas A&M Energy Institute; and lecturer at the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering.

The ETI has helped catalyze “cross-disciplinary cooperation” to expand funding opportunities for UH faculty, which includes direct funding of over 24 projects via seed grants. As the new COO, Sengupta will work alongside founding executive director of the institute, Joe Powell, their executive team and the ETI advisory board to develop and implement strategic plans. Her position is partially funded by a $500,000 grant from the Houston-based Cullen Foundation.

“We are excited to have Dr. Sengupta join us at UH to help drive the Energy Transition Institute to fulfill its mission in educating students, expanding top-tier research, and providing thought leadership in sustainable energy and chemicals for the Houston area and beyond,” Powell adds. “Dr. Sengupta brings a strong background and network in collaborating with academic, community, governmental and industry partners to build the coalitions needed for success.”

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Solar manufacturer announces massive new facility in Houston area

coming soon

SEG Solar has announced plans to open a new 1.15 million-square-foot solar module facility in Tomball—its third in the Houston area.

The news comes just weeks after the Houston-based solar manufacturer announced its second facility, which will be located in Cypress. It’s expected to open in August.

The latest 4.6-gigawatt facility in Tomball will include an assembly factory and a warehouse. Construction is slated to wrap in March 2027, with commercial panel production planned to begin in May 2027. Once completed, the facility will bring SEG’s annual U.S. module manufacturing capacity to 10.6 gigawatts, according to a news release from the company, one of the largest totals in the country.

The facility will produce heterojunction technology (HJT) modules, which the company says will add to the number of n-type solar panels made in the U.S. HJT modules are known to be more durable and are well suited for hotter climates.

“Designed to support next-generation HJT technology and FEOC-compliant production, the facility ensures reliable, high-efficiency solar solutions,” Raymond Bailey, sales manager at SEG Solar, said in a LinkedIn post. “ Alongside upstream integration in Indonesia and potential U.S. cell manufacturing, we are strengthening supply chain resilience amid evolving trade policies.”

SEG opened its $60 million, 250,000-square-foot facility in Houston in 2024 to house its production workshops, raw material warehouses, administrative offices, finished goods warehouses, and supporting infrastructure. The continued expansion is part of SEG’s long-term goal of becoming one of the largest 100 percent U.S.-owned module manufacturers.

Houston chemical co. completes successful field trial of cleaner natural gas processing tech

successful trial

Houston-based Merichem Technologies has announced successful results from the field trial of its new hydrogen sulfide (H2S) removal technology in the Permian Basin.

The technology, known as ECOTREAT, removed more than 99 percent of hydrogen sulfide gas from natural gas streams, or “sour gas,” without producing solid waste during the month-long trial. It also showed sustained performance even when operating above the unit’s design capacity, according to a news release.

“The industry is continually seeking to reduce both the price and complexity of removing hydrogen sulfide from gas production, especially since oil production has shifted to increasingly sour sources, higher gas ratios, and higher water ratios,” Jeff Gomach, SVP, Merichem Technologies, said in a news release. “ECOTREAT met all its field trial objectives and provides a highly effective method for removing hydrogen sulfide to prevent equipment corrosion, ensure worker safety, meet environmental regulations, and maintain product quality for transport.

H2S found in natural gas can turn the gas toxic or hazardous and lead to corrosion in pipelines and processing equipment. However, standard H2S removal technologies create high levels of solid waste. ECOTREAT resolves many of those issues by using an aqueous-phase proprietary catalytic process that converts H2S into dissolved thiosulfate.

Next, Merichem says it plans to move the technology out of the pilot stage to full-scale commercialization.

Merichem, an 80-plus-year-old company, initially launched as a soap and industrial cleaning company. It eventually transitioned to focus on energy technology.

In 2024, Black Bay Energy acquired a portion of Merichem Process Technologies and Merichem Catalyst Products, which would become Merichem Technologies.

Cemvita reaches breakthrough in sustainable fuel feedstock production

clean fuels

Houston-based biotech company Cemvita announced that it recently reached a critical milestone in the development of its FermOil product, which can be used to create Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and other renewable fuels at industrial scale.

The company shared in a news release that it completed a 75,000-liter industrial fermentation run at Belgium's Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant.

The campaign achieved target technical metrics for the production of FermOil, Cemvita’s renewable natural oil (RNO). FermOil is produced from industrial crude glycerin, an industrial byproduct, as opposed to traditional sugar-based feedstocks used in many bio-oil fermentation processes. It's designed to be a drop-in feedstock for creating SAFs.

Cemvita had previously advanced its FermOil production process through multiple scale-up stages before successfully reaching the 75,000-liter demonstration campaign, according to the company.

“This is not just a fermentation milestone,” Moji Karimi, CEO at Cemvita, said in the release. “It is a blueprint for how existing industrial infrastructure can evolve into circular bioeconomy infrastructure. Every biodiesel plant generating crude glycerin is a potential platform for renewable natural oil production.”

The milestone also supports the deployment of Cemvita’s industrial biomanufacturing platform, FermWorks, which integrates with existing energy and industrial infrastructure to turn waste carbon streams into SAFs and other materials. According to the release, Cemvita plans to move forward with commercial deployment discussions with partners in Brazil, Europe and in the UK. Cemvita already has a partnership with the Brazilian sustainable research institution REMA.

“We are proud to support innovative companies like Cemvita in scaling breakthrough industrial biotechnology solutions,” Hendrik Waegeman, head of business operations at Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, added in the release. “Successfully operating at the 75,000-liter scale using a feedstock such as crude glycerin highlights both the maturity of the technology and the quality of the scale-up execution achieved by the Cemvita team.”

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