Hilcorp

Last updated

Hilcorp
Company type Private
Industry
Founded1989;35 years ago (1989) in Texas
Founders
  • Jeffery Hildebrand
Headquarters
Houston, Texas
,
US
Area served
United States
Key people
  • Jeffery Hildebrand
  • Greg Lalicker(CEO)
Number of employees
3200 [1]
Website hilcorp.com

Founded in 1989, Hilcorp is an American privately-held energy exploration and production company. [2] [1] The company is headquartered in Texas, [3] with operations in nine different states. [4] It has 3200 employees world-wide, and 1500 in Alaska. [1]

The company was co-founded by Jeffery Hildebrand in 1989. [1] Hildebrand bought out his partner for sole ownership. [5] Hildebrand stepped down as CEO in 2018, promoting CEO Greg Lalicker to the position. [6] Luke Saugier is the senior vice-president of operations in Alaska. [1]

Hilcorp is the largest privately held oil company in the US, by volume. [5]

The company's strategy is to acquire declining facilities and get more production out of them. [7] In 2020, the company bought BP's assets in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, for $5.6 billion. [8] About half of BP's employees in Alaska transitioned with the takeover. [9] Exxon transferred operations in Point Thompson to Hilcorp in 2021 though it maintains a 60% ownership of the facilities. [10]

The company owns the largest share of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, [11] after purchasing BP's 49% stake in 2019. [12] [13]

Hilcorp notably paid all of its employees a $100,000 bonus in 2016, [14] and paid a $75,000 bonus to every employee in 2021. [15]

Environmental impact

Hilcorp is the largest methane emitter in the US oil and gas industry, [16] emitting more than 140,000 metric tonnes of methane. [17]

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection claimed in 2017 that Hilcorp's fracking operations in the state caused a chain of earthquakes in the prior year. [18]

In April 2021, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration ordered the company to repair and replace an under-sea section of the pipeline in the Cook Inlet. [19] [20]

In October 2024, Hilcorp was subject to an enforcement action brought by the Department of Justice for widespread Clean Air Act violations across its New Mexico operations. The Department of Justice found that "Hilcorp’s actions resulted in thousands of tons of harmful methane and VOC emissions being released into the environment. Methane is a climate super pollutant and potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change, and VOCs adversely affect human health in multiple ways, including being involved in the formation of ground level ozone." [21]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Oil and Gas Exploration/Production". Alaska Business. No. Power List. 2024. p. 136. ISSN   8756-4092.
  2. ↑ "Our History". hilcorp.com. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  3. ↑ "Fact Sheets". hilcorp.com. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  4. ↑ "About Us". hilcorp.com. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  5. 1 2 "Forbes Profile: Jeffery Hildebrand". forbes.com. 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  6. ↑ Blum, Jordan (2018-02-20). "Billionaire founder of Hilcorp hands off CEO job". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  7. ↑ Blackmon, David (2021-11-29). "How America's Biggest Privately Owned Oil Company Takes A Divergent Approach To The Energy Transition". forbes.com.
  8. ↑ Hanlon, Teagan (2020-06-30). "Hilcorp quietly takes over BP's stakes in Prudhoe Bay and other Alaska oil fields". alaskapublic.org. Alaska Public Media . Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  9. ↑ Hanlon, Teagan (2019-12-19). "About half of BP's Alaska employees have accepted a job with Hilcorp". alaskapublic.org. Alaska Public Media . Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  10. ↑ Ruskin, Liz. "Exxon transfers Point Thomson operations on Alaska's North Slope to Hilcorp". alaskapublic.org. Alaska Public Media.
  11. ↑ Hasemyer, David (2021-11-22). "Concerns Linger Over a Secretive Texas Company That Owns the Largest Share of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline". insideclimatenews.org.
  12. ↑ DeMarban, Alex (27 August 2019). "BP will sell all its Alaska assets to Hilcorp". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  13. ↑ "State regulatory commission gives final approval for BP-Hilcorp deal". Alaska Public Media. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  14. ↑ "Hilcorp Energy gives $100,000 bonus to all 1,381 employees". Fox News . 2016-05-03. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  15. ↑ Wethe, David (2021-12-10). "Hilcorp employees in line for $75,000 bonuses after meeting multi-year goals" . worldoil.com.
  16. ↑ DeMarban, Alex (2021-06-03). "Hilcorp is largest methane emitter in U.S. oil and gas industry, report shows, but its Alaska emissions are lower". Anchorage Daily News .
  17. ↑ "Benchmarking Methane and Other GHG Emissions of Oil & Natural Gas Production in the United States". Clean Air Task Force. 2021-06-01. p. 23. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  18. ↑ Cocklin, Jamison (2017-02-17). "PA Links Hilcorp Fracking to 2016 Earthquakes; New Regulations Likely" . naturalgasintel.com. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  19. ↑ Poux, Sabine (2021-04-08). "Hilcorp ordered to replace gas pipeline with history of leaks". alaskapublic.org. Alaska Public Media . Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  20. ↑ Mayberry, Alan K (2021-04-20). "CPF No. 5-2021-019-CAO" (PDF). U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration . Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  21. ↑ https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/natural-gas-producer-agrees-settlement-reduce-emissions-new-mexico


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