Comprehensive Energy Data Intelligence
Information About Energy Companies, Their Assets, Market Deals, Industry Documents and More...
From Peanuts to Richest Oil Tycoon in America: Autry Stephens Built an Empire, his net worth is...
02/16/2024
- Autry Stephens, whose parents were peanut and melon farmers, started his Texas company in 1979.
- For sixty years, he's done it all in the oil world, from driving trucks to drilling wells to engineering.
- Now, he's on track to become the wealthiest oil boss in the U.S.
- Yet, the 85-year-old hasn't planned what he'll do with his billions.
- The sale will make his company one of the top drilling operators ready to benefit from Texas' oil surge.
Diamondback Energy is buying Autry Stephens's company, Endeavor Energy Resources, for $26 billion. This deal (learn more) will make Stephens the richest oil driller in the U.S., with a $25.9 billion fortune, jumping him up to 64th place on a list of the world's richest people. He'll be wealthier than other big names in oil, like Harold Hamm with $15.4 billion and Jeff Hildebrand with $17 billion. However, Charles and Julia Koch are still richer, but their money comes from different businesses, not just oil.
The sale is expected to finish in the last part of the year.
This deal is part of a bigger trend where oil companies are buying up more land for drilling to make more money and secure their futures. It's part of a $150 billion wave of oil company deals. This activity is shaking things up far beyond Texas and New Mexico's Permian Basin, affecting global oil supply and prices.
Who is Autry Stephens?
Autry Stephens, who grew up in a family of peanut-and-melon farmers, started Endeavor in Midland, Texas, in 1979. Before that, he worked for what is now Exxon Mobil, served in the Army Corps of Engineers, and evaluated oil and gas for a Midland bank.
Initially, Stephens's company offered engineering services, but it grew to include trucking, well services, and construction. He always focused on buying drilling rights in Texas and held onto them, even when others sold theirs. After leaving the bank, he quickly bought rights in the Permian Basin and kept buying through the 80s and 90s, a time when many big companies left for opportunities abroad.
Autry's choice to use cash instead of loans to buy drilling rights helped his company survive the 2008 financial crisis, which hit the oil industry hard. Although he had to shut down almost all his rigs, the strategy worked well when oil prices soared past $100 a barrel.
The real boss came with the introduction of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, which dramatically changed the U.S. oil industry's fortunes. Stephens, with drilling rights to 344,000 acres in the heart of the Permian Basin, was perfectly positioned to benefit from these technological advances.
Mr. Stephens’s Relationships
“That’s as good as any acreage in North America. Mr. Stephens has been working leases in this basin for 45 years, and a lot of those leases were bought before we even existed at Diamondback.”
- Kaes Van’t Hof, CFO at Diamondback
In the 2010s, as big oil companies came back to the Permian and domestic drilling expanded, people wondered if Autry Stephens would sell Endeavor or make it public. Despite interest from bankers and buyers, he chose to keep growing the company himself, making Endeavor a top private firm in the Permian Basin.
Those close to Stephens admire his dedication to the Permian, even during the tough times of oil price drops in 2014 and 2020.
With the sale, Autry will still have a significant role in the industry, owning nearly 40% of the new company and getting $8 billion in cash. His daughter, Lyndal Greth, who is a lawyer and vice chair of Endeavor's board, shows the family's ongoing involvement.
Autry Stephens, after years at the helm, won't join the board of the merged companies but trusts Endeavor's current and former CEOs, Lance Robertson and Chuck Meloy, who will.
The deal's terms also meant a lot. It was crucial that Endeavor's 1,200 employees kept their jobs and that the company stayed in Midland. The fact that Diamondback's headquarters is just across the street and led by Travis Stice, whom Stephens knows well, helped seal the deal. Stephens valued the similarities between the two companies, including a focus on efficiency, a small team, and a commitment to improving the oil industry and Midland.
If you are looking for more information about energy companies, their assets, and energy deals, please, contact our sales office mapping@hartenergy.com, Tel. 619-349-4970 or SCHEDULE A DEMO to learn how Rextag can help you leverage energy data for your business.
Oil and Gas: Diamondback and Endeavor's $26 Billion Merger Redefines Permian Basin
![$data['article']['post_image_alt']](https://images2.rextag.com/public/blog/238_Blog_Oil and Gas_ Diamondback and Endeavor's $26 Billion Merger Redefines Permian Basin.png)
Diamondback's buyout of Endeavor happened about four months after ExxonMobil and Chevron made huge deals, with Exxon buying Pioneer Natural Resources for $59 billion and Chevron getting Hess for $53 billion. Even though 2023 was a slow year for company buyouts and mergers, with the total deals at $3.2 trillion (the lowest since 2013 and 47% less than the $6 trillion peak in 2021), the energy sector was still active. Experts think this buzz in energy deals is because these companies made a lot of money in 2022.
Who's Next after Diamondback? Potential Takeover Targets in the Permian Basin
![$data['article']['post_image_alt']](https://images2.rextag.com/public/blog/239_Blog_Who's Next after Diamondback_ Potential Takeover Targets in the Permian Basin.png)
The $26 billion purchase of Endeavor Energy Resources by Diamondback Energy, with its stock up 2.6%, is the newest big deal combining oil and gas production in the Permian Basin under a few big companies
![$data['article']['post_image_alt']](https://images2.rextag.com/public/blog/321_Blog_ Permian Basin Gas Production Pushes Limits – Infrastructure Expansion Needed.jpg)
The rapid growth of natural gas production in the Permian Basin is pushing existing infrastructure to its limits, and additional pipeline projects are on the horizon to meet rising demand, according to East Daley Analytics. Despite ongoing price volatility—marked by repeated declines—demand for expanded energy markets continues to surge.
![$data['article']['post_image_alt']](https://images2.rextag.com/public/blog/320_Blog_Virginia's Renewable Future Dominion Energy Sells Wind Stake for $2.6B.jpg)
Dominion Energy has struck a major deal by selling half of its stake in the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project to Stonepeak, one of the world’s leading infrastructure investors, for $2.6 billion. While Dominion will retain full control over the project’s development and day-to-day operations, this partnership gives Stonepeak a non-controlling 50% interest.
![$data['article']['post_image_alt']](https://images2.rextag.com/public/blog/319_Blog_ Turning Trash into Treasure Are Landfills America’s Next Green Energy Source.jpg)
Landfills are essential to America’s waste management system, yet they face several operational, environmental, and regulatory challenges. With over 2600 active municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills across the country, they occupy an average of more than 600 acres, which is roughly equivalent to 500 football fields. Methane emissions from landfills contribute significantly to global warming, accounting for 15.1% of U.S. methane emissions. As the waste sector is a major contributor to methane emissions, there is a growing emphasis on improved monitoring, reduction technologies, and the integration of renewable natural gas (RNG) solutions to mitigate the impacts of these emissions.