David E. Lancaster '79, Trent Latshaw '75, Brent J. Smolik '83, and E. Joseph Wright '82 were inducted into the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering's Academy of Distinguished Graduates during the Fall Industry Board Dinner Sept. 11.
The academy was developed by the Industry Board as a way to recognize and acknowledge the petroleum engineering department's most distinguished former students. To qualify for membership, a former student must have earned a bachelor's degree, master's degree or a Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University; have graduated at least 15 years before induction; and have made notable contributions to the petroleum engineering profession or to the petroleum industry.
David E. Lancaster serves the dual role of both COO and CFO at Matador Resources, which he joined in December 2003. Prior to working for Matador, he held the position of Marketing Manager for Schlumberger Data & Consulting Services worldwide from 2000 to 2003. In this role, he was responsible for global marketing strategies, commercialization of new products and services, and marketing communications. From 1999 to 2000, he was Business Manager, North and South America for Schlumberger Holditch-Reservoir Technologies. In this position, Lancaster was responsible for the business operations of 12 consulting offices throughout North and South America. Prior to this, and immediately following the acquisition of S.A. Holditch & Associates by Schlumberger in 1997, he served as Senior Vice President-Business Development, and was responsible for all business development, marketing, and sales functions as well as the company’s commercial training business. He joined S.A. Holditch & Associates in 1980, serving in a variety of positions from 1980 to 1997, ranging from Senior Petroleum Engineer to Senior Vice President, where he helped to build the company into a well-known and highly respected consulting organization. Lancaster began his career as a reservoir engineer for Diamond Shamrock Corporation in 1979.
He holds Bachelor of Science (1979) and Master of Science (1988) degrees in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University, and has authored or co-authored more than 50 technical papers and articles, as well as numerous other published reports and industry presentations. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and has served on and chaired several society and local section committees. He served as a charter member and former Vice Chairman of the Texas A&M University Petroleum Engineering Advisory Board. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas.
Trent Latshaw is the President and owner of Latshaw Drilling & Exploration Co. He graduated from Texas A&M University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in petroleum engineering. Latshaw then worked for Parker Drilling in Alaska as roughneck, motorman, derrickman and relief driller, both on land and offshore. He also worked for ARCO Alaska (Atlantic Richfield) as a drilling engineer in their offshore district covering the Gulf of Alaska and Cook Inlet.
Latshaw founded Latshaw Drilling Company (Houston) in 1981 at the age of 27. He built 2 new 20-25,000’ diesel-electric/SCR land drilling rigs at a cost of more than $8 million each. During the downturn of the mid 1980s to the early 2000s when it was tough to survive as a drilling contractor, he shifted gears and began acquiring repossessed drilling rigs and equipment from financial institutions and at auctions. Between 1986 to 1992 Latshaw Drilling bought 10 complete drilling rigs and other major components having a new replacement cost in excess of $100 million for $5 million. During this downturn he also acquired oilfield equipment manufacturers Mathey-Leland and Cooper Manufacturing, both of which were later bought by National Oilwell Varco. He served as Chairman of the Houston Chapter-International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) in 1991. In 2003 he began operating rigs again. Latshaw started with one 1,000 horsepower mechanical rig that had been purchased during the downturn. A couple of years later he started building new diesel-electric rigs based on long term contracts with companies such as Chesapeake Energy, XTO Energy, Encore Energy and Denbury Resources, Inc. Over a nine-year period (2003-2012) the company grew from 1 rig to 41 rigs and Latshaw Drilling became the second largest privately owned drilling contractor in the United States with over 1000 employees. Latshaw Drilling has made the Aggie 100 list in 2008, 2009 and 2012.
Brent J. Smolik is President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of EP Energy Corporation. He was previously Executive Vice President and a member of the Executive Committee of El Paso Corporation. He also served as President of El Paso Exploration & Production Company from November 2006 until its acquisition by a private equity group led by Apollo and Riverstone in May 2012. Prior to joining El Paso, he was President of ConocoPhillips Canada and prior to the Burlington Resources merger with ConocoPhillips, he was President of Burlington Resources Canada beginning in 2004. Smolik joined Burlington Resources in 1990 as a reservoir engineer and subsequently held engineering and asset management positions in the Denver, Offshore Gulf of Mexico, San Juan, and Gulf Coast regions. His experiences across North America include operations, asset management, and mergers and acquisitions. He began his career with ARCO in Houston where he held several drilling and reservoir engineering positions.
Smolik received a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University in 1983. He serves on the boards of the American Exploration and Production Council, the Greater Houston Partnership, Communities in Schools of Houston, The Center for Hearing and Speech and the Engineering Advisory Council of Texas A&M University. He is affiliated with the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Texas Board of Professional Engineers.
E. Joseph Wright has been the Chief Operating Officer of Concho Resources, Inc. since November 8, 2010 and the Executive Vice President since November 2013. Wright previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and as Vice President of Engineering and Operations since the Company's formation in February 2004. Before that time, Wright served as Vice President of Operations/Engineering of Concho Oil & Gas Corp. from its formation in January 2001 until its sale in January 2004, and as Vice President of Operations for Concho Resources Inc. (which was a different company from the current company). He has also worked in several operations, engineering, and capital markets positions at Mewbourne Oil Company.
Wright is a 1982 graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering.