Leader of the Evolution
David Le Norman assumed the role of chairman of The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma with extraordinary change on the horizon.
In 2019, one year after the merger of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association and the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association, Le Norman filled the void created by the completed tenure’s of OIPA Chairman Berry Mullennix and OKOGA Chairman Wade Hutchings, both of whom had served as co-chairs of the newly created Alliance.
Le Norman, the first-ever elected chairman of the Alliance, was now tasked with directing the merged organization, and, little did he know, he was facing stiff headwinds in the years to come.
Seven-months into his term, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world economy to a standstill. The price of oil fell from $17 to negative $37 in one day. Activity in Oklahoma’s historic oil and gas fields came to a halt. Jobs were lost. Companies were shuttered.
It was a difficult time to lead an oil and natural gas trade association, but Le Norman marched forward and his two-year term as chairman laid the groundwork for future Alliance success thanks to one unwavering mantra — evolution not revolution.
“When the two groups merged, we wanted to take the best aspects from both,” said Le Norman, who completed his term in June and will be recognized during a ceremony at the Alliance’s Annual Meeting in August. “For OKOGA, that was a committee structure that provides real-time support for our members. For OIPA, it was the inclusion of producers of all sizes and an event calendar that provides opportunities for members to both get information and share information with their peers.
“I was uniquely positioned because both organizations saw me as one of them. When I became chairman, I said ‘What’s our next step?’ We need to expand who is leading the organization. We need to evolve.”
Through Le Norman’s leadership, the Alliance board of directors approved the expansion of the organization’s Executive Committee from a maximum of 15 members to 19, creating more opportunities to ensure voices from midstream, refining, the service sector and non-operators were included in the Alliance leadership. Throughout his term, Le Norman frequently advocated for the industry to unite, to find common ground and collaborate. He called for companies of all sizes to band together and spread the word that the Alliance was created for ALL constituents of our oil and gas community.
“That’s how you build success,” Le Norman said. “You don’t need radical changes. You just need continual improvement.”
And Le Norman is no stranger to building success.
After launching his career as a petroleum engineer with Texaco, Le Norman founded Le Norman Energy in 1995 and paired the company with sister company Le Norman Partners to focus on exploration and development in southern Oklahoma and north Texas. Both companies were sold to Denver’s Patina Oil and Gas Corp. for over $120 million in 2002.
Le Norman joined the Patina senior staff as a senior vice president and played a significant role in growing and diversifying the holdings of the $700 million enterprise company toward its subsequent merger with Noble Energy Inc., which valued Patina at $3.5 billion in the combined company.
Le Norman followed this initial “build and monetize” strategy, building the Crusader series of companies — Hawk, Knight series, White River, LNP and TLP. These nine companies sold their assets for a combined $2.5 billion. All of these companies operated in various E&P regions across the United States with a core focus area in the Greater Anadarko Basin. Le Norman leveraged core competencies in horizontal drilling technology utilizing multi-isolation, multi-stimulation completion techniques to create value across all of these companies in various reservoirs and lithology.
Today, Le Norman leads Reign Capital Holdings, a privately-owned…
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