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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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Third Stream has received a fine of $9.6 million. Photo courtesy of Third Stream

Record $9.6M fine for Houston-based co. after Gulf of Mexico oil spill

In the news

Pipeline safety regulators on Monday, January 5, assessed their largest fine ever against the company responsible for leaking 1.1 million gallons of oil into the Gulf off the coast of Louisiana in 2023. But the $9.6 million fine isn’t likely to be a major burden for Third Coast to pay.

This single fine is close to the normal total of $8 million to $10 million in all fines that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration hands out each year. But Third Coast has a stake in some 1,900 miles of pipelines, and in September, the Houston-based company announced that it had secured a nearly $1 billion loan.

Pipeline Safety Trust Executive Director Bill Caram said this spill “resulted from a company-wide systemic failure, indicating the operator’s fundamental inability to implement pipeline safety regulations,” so the record fine is appropriate and welcome.

“However, even record fines often fail to be financially meaningful to pipeline operators. The proposed fine represents less than 3% of Third Coast Midstream’s estimated annual earnings,” Caram said. “True deterrence requires penalties that make noncompliance more expensive than compliance.”

The agency said Third Coast didn't establish proper emergency procedures, which is part of why the National Transportation Safety Board found that operators failed to shut down the pipeline for nearly 13 hours after their gauges first hinted at a problem. PHMSA also said the company didn't adequately assess the risks or properly maintain the 18-inch Main Pass Oil Gathering pipeline.

The agency said the company “failed to perform new integrity analyses or evaluations following changes in circumstances that identified new and elevated risk factors” for the pipeline.

That echoed what the NTSB said in its final report in June, that “Third Coast missed several opportunities to evaluate how geohazards may threaten the integrity of their pipeline. Information widely available within the industry suggested that land movement related to hurricane activity was a threat to pipelines.”

The NTSB said the leak off the coast of Louisiana was the result of underwater landslides, caused by hazards such as hurricanes, that Third Coast, the pipeline owner, failed to address despite the threats being well known in the industry.

A Third Coast spokesperson said the company has been working to address regulators' concerns about the leak, so it was taken aback by some of the details the agency included in its allegations and the size of the fine.

“After constructive engagement with PHMSA over the last two years, we were surprised to see aspects of the recent allegations that we believe are inaccurate and exceed established precedent. We will address these concerns with the agency moving forward," the company spokesperson said.

The amount of oil spilled in this incident was far less than the 2010 BP oil disaster, when 134 million gallons were released in the weeks following an oil rig explosion, but it could have been much smaller if workers in the Third Coast control room had acted more quickly, the NTSB said.

Houstonians can expect rain and potential electricity outages this week. The region recently experienced devastation from Hurricane Beryl. Photo via Getty Images

Tropical system expected to strengthen in Gulf of Mexico, CenterPoint reports preparation plans

incoming

Update: Space City Weather reported Monday morning that the storm has turned, and Houston is likely to see minimal effects.

A tropical system in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico was expected to strengthen this week into a tropical storm and dump heavy rains onto Mexico and Texas before reaching the U.S. as a potential hurricane, the National Weather Service said Sunday.

The system, about 340 miles (545 kilometers) south-southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande, had maximum 50 mph wind speeds (85 kilometers per hour) on Sunday and was forecast to drift slowly northwestward. Forecasters said it was too early to pinpoint the exact track of the storm and its potential impacts but warned that the upper Texas and Louisiana coastlines could see damaging winds and storm surges beginning Tuesday evening.

Houston-based CenterPoint Energy released a statement about its preparation for potential severe weather in the Greater Houston area, as well as in Louisiana and Mississippi. The company reported having 2,000 frontline workers and over 600 vegetation management personnel actively conducting pre-storm activities — with about 700 additional vegetation management personnel and 5,000 additional frontline workers if needed for response.

"While our weather experts work to determine the path, intensity and timing of the tropical activity, we remain vigilant and are fully focused on executing on our storm preparation plan. We are in the process of mobilizing all of our available resources and mutual assistance resources from other utility companies so we will be prepared to safely and quickly restore power to our customers should this tropical system impact our area," Darin Carroll, senior vice president of electric business, says in the release.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott put state emergency responders on increased readiness and warned of the potential of flash flooding and heavy rains.

“Texas will continue to closely monitor weather conditions to protect the well-being of Texans,” Abbott said in a statement.

Donald Jones, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, Louisiana, said during a weather briefing Saturday night that parts of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana should expect a “whole lot” of rain in the middle and later part of this week.

The tropical disturbance comes after an unusually quiet August and early September in the current Atlantic hurricane season, which runs through Nov. 30. The season was set to peak on Tuesday, Jones said.

So far, there have been five named storms this hurricane season, including Hurricane Beryl, which knocked out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses in Texas — mostly in the Houston area — in July. Experts had predicted one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record.

The next named storm would be called Francine.

In a report issued last week, researchers at Colorado State University cited several reasons for the lull in activity during the current hurricane season, including extremely warm upper level temperatures resulting in stabilization of the atmosphere and too much easterly wind shear in the eastern Atlantic.

“We still do anticipate an above-normal season overall, however, given that large-scale conditions appear to become more favorable around the middle of September,” according to the report.

Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration updated its outlook but still predicted a highly active Atlantic hurricane season. Forecasters tweaked the number of expected named storms from 17 to 25 to 17 to 24.

Interim CEO Joseph Mills, CEO of Samson Resources II since March 2017, joined Talos as a board member in March. Photo via LinkedIn

Houston energy CEO steps down, interim named

transition moves

Houston-based Talos Energy Inc. announced its transition plans for it's top executive position.

Tim Duncan stepped down from his role as president and CEO, the company announced last week. Duncan, who held the position since 2012, will be replaced by board member, Joseph A. Mills, who will serve as interim president and CEO as the Talos board of directors searches for a successor.

"On behalf of the Board and the entire Talos team, I want to express our gratitude to Tim for his invaluable contributions to the Company," Neal P. Goldman, chairman of Talos' Board of Directors, says in a news release. "We have complete confidence in Joe's capabilities to carry out Talos' strategy as we search for a new CEO to lead Talos into the future and unlock further value. Mills brings a wealth of industry experience and knowledge, boasting over 42 years in senior leadership positions and serving on the boards of both public and private companies in the oil and gas sector."

Mills, CEO of Samson Resources II since March 2017, joined Talos as a board member in March. He has 42 years of experience in oil in gas.

"I'm honored to step in as interim CEO of Talos," Mills adds. "The Board has played an active role guiding and evaluating our strategic approach, and I am confident about Talos's direction and strategy. Our commitment remains firm in delivering compelling value for our shareholders. I look forward to working closely with the Board and leadership team, drawing on their extensive knowledge to advance our strategic priorities during this transitional period."

Talos Energy is an upstream exploration and production business operating in the United States Gulf of Mexico and offshore Mexico. Talos is a part owner of the Bayou Bend CCS LLC joint venture, a carbon capture and storage project. Earlier this year, Talos made a $1.29 billion acquisition to expand deepwater assets.

Chevron's newest deepwater oil and natural gas production project, called the Anchor, is an all-electric facility. Photo courtesy of Chevron

Chevron launches production at deepwater project that aims to lower carbon intensity off offshore activity

green light

Chevron's new massive deepwater oil and natural gas project in the Gulf of Mexico is officially up and running.

Chevron Corp., which recently announced its relocating its global headquarters to Houston, has officially started oil and natural gas production from its Anchor project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

The semi-submersible floating production unit features a high-pressure technology that operates at up to 20,000 psi with reservoir depths reaching 34,000 feet below sea level, Chevron reports, and has a capacity of 75,000 gross barrels of oil per day and 28 million gross cubic feet of natural gas per day.

“The Anchor project represents a breakthrough for the energy industry,” Nigel Hearne, executive vice president of Chevron Oil - Products & Gas, says in a news release. “Application of this industry-first deepwater technology allows us to unlock previously difficult-to-access resources and will enable similar deepwater high-pressure developments for the industry.”

The Anchor project is Chevron’s sixth currently operating facility in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Photo courtesy of Chevron

Located 140 miles off the coast of Louisiana in the Green Canyon area and in water depths of approximately 5,000 feet, the Anchor is an all-electric facility with electric motors and electronic controls. The project utilizes waste heat and vapor recovery units and existing pipeline infrastructure for oil and natural gas transportation.

“This Anchor milestone demonstrates Chevron’s ability to safely deliver projects within budget in the Gulf of Mexico,” adds Bruce Niemeyer, president, Chevron Americas Exploration & Production. “The Anchor project provides affordable, reliable, lower carbon intensity oil and natural gas to help meet energy demand, while boosting economic activity for Gulf Coast communities.”

The Anchor project is Chevron’s sixth currently operating facility in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which is one of the lowest carbon intensity oil and gas basins in the world, per the release. By 2026, Chevron expects to be producing a combined total of 300,000 net barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Chevron's subsidiary, Chevron U.S.A. Inc. is the project operator and holds a 62.86 percent working interest. TotalEnergies E&P USA, Inc., the co-owner, holds a 37.14 percent working interest. Chevron estimates that the total potentially recoverable resources from the Anchor field is up to 440 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Black Bayou Energy Hub is developing an underground energy storage facility near the Louisiana/Texas border on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Photo courtesy of Mercuria

Energy storage facility just outside of Texas gets funding from global investor with Houston presence

fresh funds

A global independent energy and commodities group with its United States office in Houston has announced an investment in a Gulf Coast salt dome energy storage project.

Mercuria did not disclose its financial contribution into Lafayette, Louisiana-based Black Bayou Energy Hub LLC, but the company's support will go toward the development of the energy infrastructure of the large-scale, underground energy storage facility in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes in Louisiana, which is alongside the Texas border.

"Mercuria's investment in Black Bayou Energy Hub represents a significant step towards enhancing the resilience and flexibility of our energy infrastructure. This partnership leverages Mercuria's robust financial capabilities and extensive expertise in commodity markets, aligning with Black Bayou's strategic location and development potential," Boris Bystrov, managing director of investments at Mercuria, says in a news release.

"We are committed to supporting innovative projects like Black Bayou essential for transitioning to a sustainable global energy future," he continues. "Together, we aim to create a storage solution that addresses the dynamic needs of the energy sector, fostering stability and growth in the U.S. Gulf Coast region and beyond."

Located in Southwest Louisiana near what is called "LNG Alley," the Black Bayou Energy Hub will initially store FERC-regulated natural gas energy in its salt dome storage capacity, as well as develop wide range of energy products to meet growing customer need, per the release.

The strategic location of the facility — 25 miles on either side of growing cities Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Port Arthur, Texas — is just seven miles east of the Louisiana/Texas border and 18 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico coastline.

"Mercuria's investment in the Black Bayou Energy Hub creates an ideal partnership that combines Mercuria's financial strength, extensive commodity experience, and global reach with Black Bayou's unique project attributes and the team's deep expertise developing, owning, and operating underground salt dome storage projects," adds Tad Lalande, Black Bayou's CEO. "We're thrilled to add Mercuria to our roster of existing sponsors, including Charlestown Energy Partners and Cameron Prairie Sporting Club, as we progress our development and bring this project to life."

With its local office in Houston's Greenway Plaza, Mercuria, founded in 2004, has pledged that over half of its new investments will go toward renewables and transitional energy.

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Italian clean energy co. selects The Woodlands for North American HQ

new HQ

An Italian renewable energy company has picked The Woodlands for its North American headquarters.

AB Energy USA will occupy about 11,000 square feet in The Woodlands Towers at The Waterway. The company expects to add about 45 jobs in The Woodlands this year. Beginning in 2027, AB Energy USA will add another 30 jobs over a five-year period.

The new headquarters will be the corporate and governance hub for all of AB Energy’s North American subsidiaries. AB Energy, an arm of Italy-based AB, supplies renewable natural gas systems for industrial, commercial and data center customers. AB has operated in the U.S. since 2014.

“Establishing our North American headquarters in the Energy Capital of the World is a strategic step in AB’s long-term commitment to the U.S. market,” Paolo Ruggeri, North American CEO for AB Energy USA, said in a news release. “Houston gives us access to world-class engineering and energy talent, and strengthens our ability to attract and grow a high-performing team.”

Jevon Gibb, CEO of The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership, said several markets competed for AB Energy’s North American headquarters.

“AB’s decision to establish its North American headquarters here demonstrates The Woodlands’ competitiveness for both international companies and energy sector leaders,” Gibb said.

40+ teams to pitch at annual CERAWeek clean energy competition

energy venture day

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI), the Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange for Energy (TEX-E) and the Ion have named the 30-plus energy ventures and teams that will pitch at the 2026 Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition during CERAWeek this month.

The selected ventures are "driving efficiency and advancements toward the energy transition," according to the Rice Alliance. Each will each present a 3.5-minute pitch before a network of investors and industry partners during CERAWeek's Agora program on Wednesday, March 25, from noon-5:30 p.m.

The competition is divided up into the TEX-E university track, in which Texas student-led energy startups compete for $50,000 in cash prizes, and the industry ventures track.

Teams competing in the TEX-E Prize track include:

  • GOES
  • Quantum Power System
  • Quas
  • Resonant Thermal Systems
  • Srijan

The industry track is subdivided into three additional tracks, spanning materials to clean energy and will feature 37 companies. A group of expert judges will name the top three companies from each industry track. The winner of the CERAWeek competition will also have the chance to advance and compete for the $1 million investment prize at the Startup World Cup in November 2026.

Teams come from around the world, including several Houston-based ventures, such as Agellus Tank Robotics, Capwell Services and Corrolytics.

The full list of companies pitching at CERAWeek includes:

  • Agellus Tank Robotics
  • Airovation Technologies
  • Anax Power
  • Armeta
  • ATS Energy
  • Capwell Services
  • CarbonLume
  • Cogniprise
  • Corrolytics
  • Daphne Technology
  • Gemini Energy
  • Grid8
  • H Quest Vanguard
  • intcom
  • Ionada Canada
  • Junipix
  • Kunin Technologies
  • LAVA Power
  • Licube
  • LNK Energies
  • Maverick X
  • Membravo
  • Mirico
  • Mocean Energy
  • Monitorai
  • OCOchem
  • Oleo
  • Pix Force
  • PolyJoule
  • Power to Hydrogen
  • Sotaog
  • Spotlight
  • Tierra Climate
  • Verdagy
  • Via Separations
  • Vycarb
  • ZettaJoule

Those not attending CERAWeek can catch these companies and more than a dozen others at a pitch preview at the Ion. The free Pitch Preview will be held Tuesday, March 24, from 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Click here to register.

Additional companies pitching during the free preview include:

  • Ammobia
  • Arolytics
  • Ayrton Energy
  • ChainWeave
  • Cybereum
  • Energytech
  • ENP Technologies
  • KP Labs
  • Mcatalysis
  • Mitico
  • Mote
  • Nanos
  • New Horizon Oil and Gas
  • Predyct
  • Salem Robotics
  • Toluai

Two Rice University student teams took home top prizes during last year's TEX-E competition, while ventures from New Jersey, Wyoming and Virgina won in their respective industry tracks. See the full list of last year's winners here.

ExxonMobil to move legal home to Texas, citing business-friendliness

ExxonMobil is poised to move its legal headquarters from New Jersey to Texas in search of a more friendly business environment, the company announced March 10.

The board of directors for the largest U.S.-based oil producing company, which already runs its operations from the Houston suburb of Spring, unanimously recommended to its shareholders that they vote to redomicile the company in Texas.

Shareholders will vote on the change at the company’s annual meeting on May 27. If successful, it will move Exxon’s legal home for the first time since it registered in New Jersey in 1882 as Standard Oil Company — the company later changed its name to Exxon, then merged with Mobil Oil Corp.

“Over the past several years, Texas has made a noticeable effort to embrace the business community,” ExxonMobil Chair and CEO Darren Woods wrote in a statement Tuesday. “In doing so, it has created a policy and regulatory environment that can allow the company to maximize shareholder value. Aligning our legal home with our operating home, in a state that understands our business and has a stake in the company’s success, is important.”

The proposed move will not affect the company’s business operations or employee locations, the company said.

ExxonMobil has been headquartered in Texas since 1989, and about 30% of its employees currently work in the state.

The location of a company’s incorporation dictates the legal, tax and regulatory landscape for the business.

Exxon would join Tesla, Space X and Coinbase as major U.S. companies to redomicile in Texas in recent years as the state moves to become more business friendly.

In 2023, the Legislature passed and Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law that created the Texas Business Court and the 15th Court of Appeals, specialized legal venues designed to handle business and commercial disputes. Those courts began operating in 2024.

Last year, the Legislature also approved a law that made it more difficult to sue board members of companies incorporated in Texas.

“Freed from the stranglehold of over-regulation, Texas is where global brand leaders thrive and jobs for hardworking Texans grow,” Abbott wrote in a Tuesday statement. “I thank ExxonMobil for their decision to redomicile in Texas and for their long-standing partnership with our state. With this decision, Texas will further dominate the corporate landscape and ensure our economic growth reaches new heights.”

Exxon noted the creation of the business courts and other recent legal reforms made by Texas in its statement announcing the decision.

“In making its recommendation, the Board considered Texas’ legal and regulatory environment, including its modernized business statutes and the Texas Business Court, which is designed to resolve complex disputes efficiently,” the statement said.

Texas has benefited from growing frustration among company executives with traditional corporate havens of New Jersey and Delaware. New Jersey sued Exxon in 2022, alleging the company contributed to climate change, which forced the state to pay for cleanup after natural disasters. The lawsuit was dismissed last year.

Delaware remains the nation’s top state for U.S. companies’ legal home.

Coinbase’s CEO wrote last year that the company was reincorporating from Delaware to Texas because the Lone Star State’s legal framework is more predictable and efficient. Tesla reincorporated from Delaware to Texas after a 2024 court ruling ordered CEO Elon Musk to give up a compensation package, finding that the package’s shareholder approval process was “deeply flawed.”

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This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

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