AVANT NATURAL RESOURCES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Finance Manager
- Alex Keller Finance Manager
Alex Keller brings over 5 years of energy advisory and private equity experience to the Avant team. Prior to joining Avant, Alex was an Associate at Donovan Ventures where he participated in strategic management of the firm's portfolio companies, advised on investment banking transactions totaling over $1 billion, and conducted diligence on ABS transactions totaling over $500 million. Alex earned a bachelor's degree from Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Job Titles:
- Land Administration Manager
Asher Miller brings over a decade of land experience, with a background in land administration, division orders and leasehold record management for multiple publicly traded E&P companies with operations across the US. Most recently, Asher was a Team Lead of Division Orders at Crescent Point Energy, where he led a team of analysts and specialized in data integrity. Asher earned a bachelor's degree from Colorado State University.
Braden Harris brings over 20 years of operational and technical experience from multiple basins across the United States. Braden has a proven track record building high performing operations teams with a focus on safety, regulatory compliance, capital discipline and operational excellence. He has been solely responsible for the deployment of over $1 billion in capital and delivered best-in-class results. Most recently, Braden was the VP of Drilling and Completions at Advance Energy Partners, an EnCap portfolio company, where he was responsible for all operations for over 100 horizontal wells. Prior to Advance, Braden served in various operational roles at Centennial Resource Development, Silverback Exploration, EOG Resources and ConocoPhillips, among others. Braden earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Montana State University.
Chris Leyendecker brings a decade of combined operational and transactional Land experience to the Avant team. Prior to joining Avant, Chris served as Landman at EOG Resources, Inc. in both their Denver and Midland offices. During his time at EOG, Chris was instrumental in preparing well locations for EOG's robust development plan in the Delaware Basin. In addition, Chris was responsible for negotiating and executing numerous trades and acquisitions of leasehold interests throughout multiple onshore US oil and gas basins. Prior to EOG, Chris served as a land administration professional with Southwestern Energy, based in Spring, TX. Chris earned a bachelor's degree in Energy Management from the University of Oklahoma. He is an active member of the AAPL, DAPL and PBLA.
Jacob Nagy co-founded Avant in 2019 and serves as Co-Chief Executive Officer. He leads fundraising efforts and company strategy, while overseeing investment origination, operations execution and financial management. Jacob was previously a Partner and Managing Director at Petrie Partners, a boutique energy investment bank, where he was responsible for deal origination, transaction advisory and investment management. Jacob earned a bachelor's degree from Rice University and was recognized by Oil & Gas Investor as a Forty Under 40 honoree in 2018.
Jerry Strawn brings over 7 years of completions and operations experience from his years working at Halliburton and as a consultant at Ely & Associates. Jerry has worked with numerous operators to develop fields across North and South America utilizing various completion techniques while highlighting opportunities to reduce costs and improve efficiencies. Jerry earned a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University.
Job Titles:
- SVP of Assets and Exploration
John Harper provides extensive geological insight from his years of exploration and development experience at EOG Resources and Centennial Resource Development. His efforts in the Permian Basin resulted in the expansion of known play boundaries and a significant increase in economic inventory. With over 350 horizontal wells drilled across multiple geologic targets, John has achieved several Permian production records while also playing active roles in 100+ acquisitions, divestitures and trades. John earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and a master's degree in Geology and Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.
Josh is an accomplished geoscientist with over 6 years of expertise in unconventional petroleum exploration and development. Throughout his tenures with EOG Resources, ExxonMobil, and Guggenheim Partners, Josh has planned and drilled over 300 wells in the Permian Basin, successfully proposing over $2 billion in new development while strategically developing key company assets such as Red Hills, Poker Lake, and The Big Eddy Unit. Josh holds a Master of Science in Geology and Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University.
Katelyn Dick brings nearly a decade of land experience with a focus on title research, curative and land administration functions. Katelyn has conducted field land work and minerals management across multiple basins, with most of her experience being in the Permian Basin and Appalachia. Previously, she was a Project Coordinator at Holland Services, where she specialized in managing land projects for E&P companies across the U.S. Katelyn is an active member of NALTA and earned a bachelor's degree from Oklahoma State University.
Pete Williams brings nearly a decade of oil and gas transaction advisory and execution experience to the Avant team. Prior to joining Avant, Pete was a Vice President with Petrie Partners, where he successfully completed numerous asset acquisitions and divestitures, public company mergers and private and public company financings totaling over $25 billion in value. Pete earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado.
Job Titles:
- Senior Operations Manager
Rusty Sandry brings a decade of operational and technical experience with his years in the field on the service side and experience with Centennial Resource Development and Permian Resources. At Centennial, Rusty worked in the Facilities, Production, and Drilling departments where he gained his knowledge to be a more well-rounded engineer. Most recently, Rusty was a Senior Drilling Engineer at Permian Resources, where he managed two drilling rigs in the Delaware Basin. He also served in numerous operational roles on a Completions workover rig in the Bakken Basin and Frac engineer for Halliburton in the DJ Basin. Rusty earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Wyoming.
Job Titles:
- VP of Midstream and Marketing
Sam Arneson brings nearly two decades of midstream and upstream experience covering multiple basins with both public and private companies. Over the course of his career, he has worked with midstream teams in the development of nearly 1 million barrels per day of Permian crude regional gathering and transportation along with over 7 billion cubic feet of gas gathering, processing and NGL fractionation expansions. Sam began his career with Markwest Energy Partners and has held senior level development, commercial and marketing roles with EagleClaw Midstream, Felix Energy II, Oryx Midstream, and WTG Midstream. Sam earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from St. Cloud State University.
Sarah Ferreyros brings over a decade of Regulatory experience to Avant. Having managed regulatory compliance for multi-rig development programs in the Permian Basin, she brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to the team. Most recently, Sarah worked as the Regulatory Manager at Permian Resources, successfully transitioning and building the Regulatory Department for the merger of Centennial Resource Development and Colgate Energy. Prior to Permian Resources, Sarah held significant Regulatory roles at Centennial Resource Development and Vantage Energy. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and completed the COGA EnGen leadership program, underscoring her commitment to continuous learning and professional development.
Shailey Oglesby brings a decade of experience providing operational support to engineers and field staff. Most recently, she was a Senior Engineering Technician at Advance Energy Partners where she managed multiple projects for the operations team. Shailey specializes in directional well design, data management, data analysis, and project management with experience spanning multiple basins across the U.S. Shailey earned an associate degree from Central Wyoming College.
Job Titles:
- Petroleum Engineer With a Comprehensive Understanding of the Permian Basin
- VP of Engineering
Shane Kelly is an experienced petroleum engineer with a comprehensive understanding of the Permian Basin from his years of experience with EOG Resources and Centennial Resource Development. At EOG, Shane managed an annual operating budget in excess of $1 billion with responsibility over rig scheduling, production forecasting and capital management. Shane has been involved in drilling over 350 horizontal wells in the Permian and played key technical roles in acquisition and divestiture efforts across multiple regions. Shane earned bachelor's degrees in both Petroleum Engineering and Business Management and Information Systems from Texas Tech University.
Job Titles:
- VP of Land and Business Development
Shelly Albrecht brings nearly two decades of land and business development experience, having completed numerous transactions across multiple basins while also managing multi-rig development programs. Most recently, Shelly was the Director of Land and Business Development at Franklin Mountain, a private operator in the Delaware Basin. Prior to that, she was the Land Manager at Liberty Resources, a private equity-backed operator in the Williston and Powder River Basins. Shelly has also worked in various land roles at operators such as Newfield, Samson and BP. Shelly earned a bachelor's degree in Energy Management from the University of Oklahoma, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She has served on the Board of Directors for both the American Association of Petroleum Landmen and Denver Association of Professional Landmen.
Skyler Gary co-founded Avant in 2019 and serves as Co-Chief Executive Officer. He leads fundraising efforts and company strategy, while overseeing business development, land execution and personnel management. Skyler was previously Director of Land and Business Development for Hat Creek Energy, LLC a Denver-based E&P company with operated and non-operated assets in several states. Skyler earned a bachelor's degree from the University of San Diego.
Sophia Guerra brings a decade of land experience, with a background in land administration, division orders and leasehold record management for multiple publicly traded E&P companies with operations across the US. Most recently, Sophia was a Landman at Centennial Resource Production, LLC, where she maintained leasehold for several project areas within the Permian Basin, negotiated leases and trade opportunities and prepared acreage for full-scale development. Sophia earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Tiffany Sarantinos brings over 20 years of experience performing leasehold and data management. Most recently, Tiffany worked in the land department for Gary Permian, LLC, a private equity-backed company focused on the Permian Basin. Tiffany has conducted leasing activity, division order analysis and contractual work across multiple U.S. basins and supervised the land department for a public E&P company with over 500,000 acres under management. Tiffany has served on the board for DALTA and remains an active member of NALTA and Women's Energy Network Colorado. Tiffany attended the University of Colorado Denver.