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MidCont-Focused Tall Oak Midstream Scores $100MM in Equity
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Tall Oak Midstream LLC has been awarded an initial equity commitment of up to $100 million from private equity firm EnCap Flatrock Midstream and management. EnCap Flatrock expects to increase its commitment to Tall Oak as the company executes its growth strategy.
Tall Oak will pursue midstream opportunities in emerging resource plays across North America with an initial emphasis on the Mid-Continent region of the United States, leveraging the management team’s deep midstream and upstream experience and building on strong relationships with oil and gas producers in the region.
Tall Oak Midstream’s management team is led by the company’s four founding partners, a group of accomplished executives from three of the nation’s leading energy companies. The team includes President and Chief Executive Officer Ryan D. Lewellyn; Chief Commercial Officer Carlos P. Evans; Chief Financial Officer Max J. Myers; and Chief Operating Officer Lindel R. Larison.
Prior to Tall Oak’s formation in early 2014, Mr. Lewellyn served as managing director of DCP Midstream’s Mid-Continent business unit. His responsibilities included earnings, operations, commercial, construction and business development activities in southern Colorado, Kansas, the Oklahoma Panhandle and the Texas Panhandle. Chief Commercial Officer Carlos P. Evans, most recently served as manager of gas sales for Chesapeake Energy. His marketing and midstream experience focused on commercial and business development, gas scheduling and contract administration. Prior to joining Tall Oak Midstream as chief financial officer, Max J. Myers was treasurer of OGE Energy Corp where he had oversight responsibility for cash management, corporate finance, insurance and corporate development. Most recently Mr. Myers played a key role in the formation of Enable Midstream Partners, the $11 billion combination of Centerpoint Energy and Enogex midstream assets. Chief Operating Officer Lindel R. Larison, was most recently with Chesapeake Energy, where he served as the manager of construction and engineering. Mr. Larison’s midstream experience includes the engineering, construction and operation of natural gas gathering and processing systems throughout Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and southern Kansas.
Tall Oak Midstream’s president and CEO, Ryan Lewellyn, commented: "We are excited to be partnering with EnCap Flatrock and look forward to working together to build an innovative midstream company. Tall Oak has had a great response from the Oklahoma oil and gas community. One of the strengths of our team is in the unique skill set each one of us brings to Tall Oak. We have diverse and complementary experience in both the midstream and upstream sectors, and that gives us a good understanding of our customers’ needs. We’re dedicated to creating a company that looks at midstream services through that lens, putting the customer first and designing innovative midstream solutions that build value for oil and gas producers."
Dennis Jaggi, a managing partner at EnCap Flatrock and a member of the Tall Oak board of directors, said, "Our initial equity commitment to Tall Oak reflects our confidence in Ryan and the outstanding quality of the management team he has assembled. They have a customer-driven approach and experience with significant midstream assets located in complex resource plays. We look forward to supporting Tall Oak’s growth."
Paul Hastings LLP served as legal counsel to Tall Oak Midstream with Jimmy Vallee, a partner in the firm’s Houston office, in the lead role. Thompson & Knight LLP represented EnCap Flatrock Midstream with partner Sarah McClean leading that firm’s legal team from Thompson & Knight’s Houston office.