hilcorp
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></font></strong></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">off bs</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><a href="http://www.hilcorp.com/"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">http://www.hilcorp.com/</font></a></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">social resp literally big, just blurb/ mission st? with big apply for jobs now button</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><a href="http://www.hilcorp.com/about-us/"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">http://www.hilcorp.com/about-us/</font></a></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></font></strong></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/27/meet-jeffery-hildebrand-texas-oil-billionaire-who-wants-drill-arctic"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/27/meet-jeffery-hildebrand-texas-oil-billionaire-who-wants-drill-arctic</font></a></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">GPUSA</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Royal Dutch Shell may have recently scrapped its plans to drill for oil in the Chukchi Sea, but the oil industry has not given up <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/big-oil-arctic-drilling-report-youll-never-guess-happened-next/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">its designs on the Arctic Ocean’s fossil fuels</a>. In September, <b>Houston-based company <a href="https://www.boem.gov/Hilcorp-Liberty/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Hilcorp submitted a plan</a> to develop and produce oil from the Liberty prospect in the Beaufort Sea off the north coast of Alaska</b>. If the Obama administration approves Hilcorp’s plan it will mark a dubious milestone: the first oil produced entirely from federal waters in the Arctic Ocean. The President has made several important decisions in recent months to slow or halt Arctic oil exploration, but <a href="https://secure3.convio.net/gpeace/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1892&s_src=gpblog" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">he can still do more</a>. President Obama has the power to keep Arctic oil in the ground for good, and approving Hilcorp’s plan would be a step in the wrong direction.</font></p><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pushing Extreme Oil</font></h2><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Hilcorp is not a household name like Shell or Exxon, but it has quietly grown to become one of the largest privately held oil and gas companies in the United States. Billionaire founder, chairman and <span class="caps" style="">CEO</span> <a href="http://polluterwatch.org/jeffery-hildebrand" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Jeffery D. Hildebrand</a> regularly cracks the list of the <b><a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/jeffery-hildebrand/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">100 richest Americans</a> and is a major funder of Republican politicians</b>.</span>
<b>Founded in 1989, Hilcorp has been a <a href="https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/k-k-r-s-energy-billionaires-club/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">big player in the recent fracking boom</a> </b>and has pushed the envelope on aggressive tactics to extract oil. In Pennsylvania, Hilcorp tried to exploit a clause in a state law that allowed for “<a href="http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/policy-powersource/2015/01/06/Forced-pooling-policies-remain-unclear-in-Pennsylvania-s-shale-plays/stories/201412300017" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">forced poolin</a><a href="http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/policy-powersource/2015/01/06/Forced-pooling-policies-remain-unclear-in-Pennsylvania-s-shale-plays/stories/201412300017" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">g</a>.” Under that law, landowners who refused to sign over their drilling rights could be “integrated” into the drilling agreement against their will. After widespread controversy, Hilcorp backed down in 2014.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Apart from fracking, Hilcorp has also made its name over the years by taking over assets from other oil companies and extracting additional value from them. In 2014, Hilcorp <a href="http://fuelfix.com/blog/2014/04/22/bp-selling-long-held-stakes-in-alaskas-north-slope-oil-fields/#12843101=0" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">purchased stakes in three offshore Arctic oil fields</a>that had previously been owned by <span class="caps" style="">BP</span>. Two of these fields – Northstar and Endicott – have already produced oil from artificial gravel islands located in Alaska state waters.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
<span style="line-height: 1.1em;">[pix Northstar is an artificial gravel island similar to the one proposed for the Liberty site. Although Northstar is located in Alaska state waters, it drills into leases in federal waters and is therefore considered a joint state/federal project. Photo Credit: <span class="caps" style="">BSEE</span>.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The third was the Liberty prospect, located 5.5 miles offshore in federal waters.</b> To develop the Liberty prospect, Hilcorp has <a href="http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/09/21/feds-to-review-hilcorps-plan-for-manmade-island-in-arctic/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">proposed to construct</a> an artificial gravel island on the site and then drill from the island down into the oil field. The prospect may yield as many as 150 million barrels of oil, which would be transported to land via a subsea pipeline. <span class="caps" style="">BP</span> still retains a 50 percent stake in the Liberty project, but following its <a href="http://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/prog.php?parent=bp" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">more than $20 billion settlement</a> for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, the company declined to be the public face of this new Arctic project.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While gravel islands pose different risks than Shell’s plan to use floating oil rigs to drill 65 miles offshore, those risks are not inconsequential. Should a blowout occur, the Worst Case Discharge (<span class="caps" style="">WCD</span>) scenario for the Liberty prospect envisions a spill of 2 million barrels of oil over 30 days, which is more than three times as large as Shell’s estimated <span class="caps" style="">WCD</span> from its recently scrapped Arctic drilling venture. A spill from the island during the open water season would reach shore much more quickly and would leave considerably less time for response measures to be put in place.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The construction of the gravel island will likely harm a nearby marine habitat known as the “boulder patch,” one of the most unique and biologically diverse habitats in the Beaufort Sea. Noise and light pollution from the project operations will disturb endangered species such as bowhead whales, polar bears and the Pacific walrus. What’s more, the oil extracted from Liberty island will only <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/arctic/issues/global-warming/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">worsen climate change and its impacts on Alaskan and Arctic ecosystem</a>s.</font></p><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Oil Money Flows Towards Political Power</font></h2><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The New York Times recently published an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/11/us/politics/2016-presidential-election-super-pac-donors.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">exposé of the 158 families</a> who have donated nearly half of the money raised so far in the 2016 Presidential election. These donors are “overwhelmingly white, rich, older and male” and their money comes primarily from the finance and energy sectors. As the Times noted, “not since before Watergate have so few people and businesses provided so much early money in a campaign, most of it through channels legalized by the Supreme Court’s <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/democracy/issues/money-politics/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Citizens United</a> decision five years ago.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jeffery Hildebrand’s contributions of more than a quarter-million dollars earned him a spot on this <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/us/politics/wealthy-families-presidential-candidates.html#donors-list" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">rarefied list</a>. What’s more, seven of his neighbors in the River Oaks neighborhood of Houston also made the list, including executives for Kinder Morgan, Freeport-McMoRan and <span class="caps" style="">W&T</span> Offshore. That adds up to nearly $8 million in political clout from a remarkably concentrated pocket of wealth.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">So far in 2015, Hildebrand and his wife, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?sort=D&name=Melinda%2BHildebrand&state=&zip=&employ=&cand=&soft=&cycle=All" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Melinda</a>, have donated<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?sort=D&name=Jeffrey%2BHildebrand&state=TX&zip=&employ=&cand=&soft=&cycle=All" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">$250,000 to Right to Rise <span class="caps" style="">USA</span></a> (a super <span class="caps" style="">PAC</span> supporting former Florida governor Jeb Bush), $35,000 to the Republican National Committee and $5,200 directly to Jeb Bush’s campaign. These donations have helped Bush <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/10/16/18631/see-how-much-2016-presidential-candidates-have-raised-so-far" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">amass the largest war chest</a> in the 2016 Presidential race thus far. <a href="http://followthemoney.org/entity-details?eid=9751389" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Hildebrand also gave $15,000</a> to Jeb’s son, George Prescott Bush, in his successful campaign to be the Texas Land Commissioner.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Hildebrands have concentrated their largesse in the states where Hilcorp does business: especially Texas, Louisiana and Alaska. In 2015 they gave $5,200 to the <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?sort=D&name=Jeffery%2BHildebrand&state=TX&zip=&employ=&cand=&soft=&cycle=All" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">re-election campaign of Senator Lisa Murkowski</a> (R-<span class="caps" style="">AK</span>), a staunch advocate of Arctic drilling. Hilcorp Energy itself has been a <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?name=Hilcorp&cycle=All&sort=R&state=&zip=&employ=&cand=&submit=Submit+Query" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">consistent donor to the Fund for Louisiana’s Future</a>, a super <span class="caps" style="">PAC</span> supporting Sen. David Vitter (R-<span class="caps" style="">LA</span>), who is running for Governor this year.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2012, Hildebrand gave $450,000 to Mitt Romney’s Restore Our Future Super <span class="caps" style="">PAC</span> and was a strong supporter of former Texas governor Rick Perry. A <a href="http://followthemoney.org/entity-details?eid=9751389" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">large $110,000 contribution</a> to the campaign for the Texas Railroad Commissioner might seem mysterious at first glance, except that the Railroad Commission doesn’t have anything to do with railroads and is actually the main state regulator of the oil and gas industry. In Alaska, Hilcorp <a href="http://followthemoney.org/entity-details?eid=26855718" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">donated more than $13,000</a> to defeat a 2014 referendum that <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_Oil_Tax_Cuts_Veto_Referendum,Ballot_Measure_1%28August_2014%29" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">would have repealed tax breaks</a> for oil companies.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hildebrand – like many oil and gas executives – seems to use his political donations to invest in politicians who can advance his company’s interests. Governor <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/jeb-bush-energy-climate-change-fossil-fuels-214241" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Bush’s energy plan</a> is heavily focused on fossil fuel extraction and earlier this year he <a href="https://twitter.com/jebbush/status/633660508957245440" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">tweeted out his support for Arctic drilling</a>. Senator Murkowski has been a fierce critic of the Obama administration’s energy policies and the strongest voice in Congress for expanding Arctic oil drilling, both offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><em><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Activists dressed as $100 bills representing “The Money” have a tug of war with activists as “The People” in front of the Supreme Court. Photo credit: Greenpeace Robert Meyers</font></em></p><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Keep It in the Ground</font></h2><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As Greenpeace’s <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/wp-content/uploads/legacy/Global/usa/planet3/PDFs/Kingpins-of-Carbon.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Kingpins of Carbon</a> report details, fossil fuel corporations have so far had great success at using the political system to advance their narrow interests. Oil companies receive millions in tax subsidies every year and corporations lease federal lands and waters on the cheap, while at the same time industry-funded groups like <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2015/07/12891/alec-conference-funding-dominated-big-polluters" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="caps" style="">ALEC</span></a> and the Western States Petroleum Association work overtime to pass legislation that attacks renewable energy and props-up fossil fuels. Thanks to this dirty money influence, time is now running short to limit greenhouse gas emissions enough to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. President Obama has the power to keep fossil fuels in the ground by imposing a moratorium on federal leasing. He should make the most of his last year in office and leave behind a legacy that the world truly needs now. <span style="font-weight: 700;"><a href="https://secure3.convio.net/gpeace/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1892&s_src=gpblog" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Take action: demand President Obama protect the Arctic from oil drilling and keep <span class="caps" style="">ALL</span> fossil fuels in the ground.</a></span></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></font></strong></p><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAAQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFSgAMAB6BAgAEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><div class="r" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.57;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/27/meet-jeffery-hildebrand-texas-oil-billionaire-who-wants-drill-arctic" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/27/meet-jeffery-hildebrand-texas-oil-billionaire-who-wants-drill-arctic&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFjAAegQIABAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /></font><h3 class="LC20lb" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-flex; max-width: 100%; line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/27/meet-jeffery-hildebrand-texas-oil-billionaire-who-wants-drill-arctic" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/27/meet-jeffery-hildebrand-texas-oil-billionaire-who-wants-drill-arctic&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFjAAegQIABAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /></font><div class="ellip" style="overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/27/meet-jeffery-hildebrand-texas-oil-billionaire-who-wants-drill-arctic" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/27/meet-jeffery-hildebrand-texas-oil-billionaire-who-wants-drill-arctic&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFjAAegQIABAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">Meet Jeffery Hildebrand, the Texas Oil Billionaire Who Wants to Drill in ...</a></font></div></h3>
<div class="TbwUpd" style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.57; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 1px;"><cite class="iUh30 bc" style="font-style: normal; padding-top: 1px; line-height: 1.5;">https://www.desmogblog.com › 2015/11/27 › meet-jeffery-hildebrand-tex...</cite></div><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?ei=-0ZtXbCIH8zUsAWRw5S4Cg&q=hilcorp+oil+energy+texas+hildebrand+donor+funder+&oq=hilcorp+oil+energy+texas+hildebrand+donor+funder+&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i299.807.15490..15762...7.0..0.346.5759.0j26j5j1......0....1..gws-wiz.......33i22i29i30j33i160.wq1ov3Y4VYg&ved=0ahUKEwjw8eyCy7LkAhVMKqwKHZEhBacQ4dUDCAo&uact=5#" id="am-b0" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQ7B0wAHoECAAQAw" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQqR8wAHoECAAQBA" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; white-space: nowrap; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:hNPRGJuYmloJ:https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/27/meet-jeffery-hildebrand-texas-oil-billionaire-who-wants-drill-arctic+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:hNPRGJuYmloJ:https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/27/meet-jeffery-hildebrand-texas-oil-billionaire-who-wants-drill-arctic%2B%26cd%3D1%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQIDAAegQIABAF" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li></ol></div></div></div><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 1.57;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.57; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="f" style="line-height: 1.57;">Nov 27, 2015 - </span>President Obama has the <span style="font-weight: bold;">power</span> to keep Arctic <span style="font-weight: bold;">oil</span> in the ground for good, and ... Billionaire <span style="font-weight: bold;">founder</span>, chairman and CEO Jeffery D. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hildebrand</span> regularly cracks ... <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hilcorp Energy</span>itself has been a consistent <span style="font-weight: bold;">donor</span> to the Fund for ...</font></span></div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAEQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFSgAMAF6BAgBEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><div class="r" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.57;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffery_Hildebrand" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffery_Hildebrand&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFjABegQIARAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /></font><h3 class="LC20lb" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-flex; max-width: 100%; line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffery_Hildebrand" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffery_Hildebrand&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFjABegQIARAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /></font><div class="ellip" style="overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffery_Hildebrand" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffery_Hildebrand&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFjABegQIARAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">Jeffery Hildebrand - Wikipedia</a></font></div></h3>
<div class="TbwUpd" style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.57; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 1px;"><cite class="iUh30 bc" style="font-style: normal; padding-top: 1px; line-height: 1.5;">https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Jeffery_Hildebrand</cite></div><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?ei=-0ZtXbCIH8zUsAWRw5S4Cg&q=hilcorp+oil+energy+texas+hildebrand+donor+funder+&oq=hilcorp+oil+energy+texas+hildebrand+donor+funder+&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i299.807.15490..15762...7.0..0.346.5759.0j26j5j1......0....1..gws-wiz.......33i22i29i30j33i160.wq1ov3Y4VYg&ved=0ahUKEwjw8eyCy7LkAhVMKqwKHZEhBacQ4dUDCAo&uact=5#" id="am-b1" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQ7B0wAXoECAEQAw" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQqR8wAXoECAEQBA" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; white-space: nowrap; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:On4MSUEnODwJ:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffery_Hildebrand+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:On4MSUEnODwJ:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffery_Hildebrand%2B%26cd%3D2%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQIDABegQIARAF" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=related:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffery_Hildebrand+hilcorp+oil+energy+texas+hildebrand+donor+funder&tbo=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQHzABegQIARAG" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li></ol></div></div></div><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 1.57;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.57; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hildebrand</span> worked for the American <span style="font-weight: bold;">Energy</span> Capital Corporation, the Dan A. Hughes Company, and Exxon Company, until he founded <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hilcorp Energy</span> Company, an <span style="font-weight: bold;">oil and gas</span> exploration and production company. ... He is the 77th richest American citizen. He was worth $1.9 billion in 2010.</font></span></div><div data-base-uri="/search" id="ed_1" data-ved="2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQ2Z0BMAF6BAgBEAc" /></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAIQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFSgAMAJ6BAgCEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><div class="r" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.57;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/10/25/houston-billionaire-s-co-gets-ok-to-build-first.html" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/10/25/houston-billionaire-s-co-gets-ok-to-build-first.html&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFjACegQIAhAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /></font><h3 class="LC20lb" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-flex; max-width: 100%; line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/10/25/houston-billionaire-s-co-gets-ok-to-build-first.html" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/10/25/houston-billionaire-s-co-gets-ok-to-build-first.html&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFjACegQIAhAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /></font><div class="ellip" style="overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/10/25/houston-billionaire-s-co-gets-ok-to-build-first.html" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/10/25/houston-billionaire-s-co-gets-ok-to-build-first.html&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFjACegQIAhAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">Hilcorp Alaska's offshore oil and gas production facility approved ...</a></font></div></h3>
<div class="TbwUpd" style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.57; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 1px;"><cite class="iUh30 bc" style="font-style: normal; padding-top: 1px; line-height: 1.5;">https://www.bizjournals.com › houston-billionaire-s-co-gets-ok-to-build-first</cite></div><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?ei=-0ZtXbCIH8zUsAWRw5S4Cg&q=hilcorp+oil+energy+texas+hildebrand+donor+funder+&oq=hilcorp+oil+energy+texas+hildebrand+donor+funder+&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i299.807.15490..15762...7.0..0.346.5759.0j26j5j1......0....1..gws-wiz.......33i22i29i30j33i160.wq1ov3Y4VYg&ved=0ahUKEwjw8eyCy7LkAhVMKqwKHZEhBacQ4dUDCAo&uact=5#" id="am-b2" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQ7B0wAnoECAIQAw" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQqR8wAnoECAIQBA" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; white-space: nowrap; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KYVCJONN03IJ:https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/10/25/houston-billionaire-s-co-gets-ok-to-build-first.html+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:KYVCJONN03IJ:https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/10/25/houston-billionaire-s-co-gets-ok-to-build-first.html%2B%26cd%3D3%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQIDACegQIAhAF" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li></ol></div></div></div><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 1.57;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.57; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="f" style="line-height: 1.57;">Oct 25, 2018 - </span>Houston billionaire's co. gets OK to build <span style="font-weight: bold;">oil and gas</span> production facility ... Jeffery <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hildebrand</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">founder</span> and executive chairman of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hilcorp Energy</span> ... Here are the top 25 <span style="font-weight: bold;">donors</span> to Donald Trump's election campaign since 2017. ... <span style="font-weight: bold;">Texas energy</span> data wrap: Midstream buildout could prompt Permian growth.</font></span></div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAMQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFSgAMAN6BAgDEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><div class="r" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.57;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.statesman.com/news/20171108/regent-wife-donate-25-million-to-uts-petroleum-engineering-unit" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.statesman.com/news/20171108/regent-wife-donate-25-million-to-uts-petroleum-engineering-unit&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFjADegQIAxAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /></font><h3 class="LC20lb" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-flex; max-width: 100%; line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.statesman.com/news/20171108/regent-wife-donate-25-million-to-uts-petroleum-engineering-unit" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.statesman.com/news/20171108/regent-wife-donate-25-million-to-uts-petroleum-engineering-unit&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFjADegQIAxAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /></font><div class="ellip" style="overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.statesman.com/news/20171108/regent-wife-donate-25-million-to-uts-petroleum-engineering-unit" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.statesman.com/news/20171108/regent-wife-donate-25-million-to-uts-petroleum-engineering-unit&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQFjADegQIAxAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">Regent, wife donate $25 million to UT's petroleum engineering unit ...</a></font></div></h3>
<div class="TbwUpd" style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.57; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 1px;"><cite class="iUh30 bc" style="font-style: normal; padding-top: 1px; line-height: 1.5;">https://www.statesman.com › news › regent-wife-donate-25-million-to-uts-...</cite></div><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?ei=-0ZtXbCIH8zUsAWRw5S4Cg&q=hilcorp+oil+energy+texas+hildebrand+donor+funder+&oq=hilcorp+oil+energy+texas+hildebrand+donor+funder+&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i299.807.15490..15762...7.0..0.346.5759.0j26j5j1......0....1..gws-wiz.......33i22i29i30j33i160.wq1ov3Y4VYg&ved=0ahUKEwjw8eyCy7LkAhVMKqwKHZEhBacQ4dUDCAo&uact=5#" id="am-b3" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQ7B0wA3oECAMQAw" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQqR8wA3oECAMQBA" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; white-space: nowrap; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:HSh4lQKgTeQJ:https://www.statesman.com/news/20171108/regent-wife-donate-25-million-to-uts-petroleum-engineering-unit+&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:HSh4lQKgTeQJ:https://www.statesman.com/news/20171108/regent-wife-donate-25-million-to-uts-petroleum-engineering-unit%2B%26cd%3D4%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwjslO6szLLkAhVQvKwKHckIAWIQIDADegQIAxAF" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li></ol></div></div></div><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 1.57;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.57; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="f" style="line-height: 1.57;">Nov 8, 2017 - </span>A University of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Texas</span> System regent and his wife have donated $25 million to ... Regent Jeff <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hildebrand</span> and Mindy <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hildebrand</span> have a very deep ... The <span style="font-weight: bold;">donation</span> from the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hildebrand</span> Foundation was announced Tuesday. ... and CEO of Houston-based <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hilcorp Energy</span>Co., a privately held <span style="font-weight: bold;">oil</span> and natural gas ...</font></span></div></div></div></div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></font></strong></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">fox</font></strong></p><p class="speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 28px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 28px;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hilcorp Energy, one of the largest privately held oil and natural gas exploration companies in the United States announced that it would give all 1,381 employees a year-end bonus of $100,000 after what the company called a positive year in growth.</font></p><p class="speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 28px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 28px;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jeffery Hildebrand, the 56-year-old billionaire owner, will pay out more than $100 million in total and reportedly uses these bonuses to motivate his workforce. Forbes <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2015/12/11/what-oil-bust-texas-billionaire-gives-each-worker-a-100000-bonus/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 2px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(167, 198, 229); border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: background 0s ease 0s, all 0.25s ease 0s, all 0s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">reported</a> that five years ago, the Hilcorp gave its employees two options for a bonus: $50,000 towards a car or $35,000 in cash.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 28px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 28px;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This year, the Houston-based company doubled its output again to more than 150,000 barrels each day and, Forbes reported, the bonus was doubled.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 28px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 28px;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"It's just a true gift," Amanda Thompson, a receptionist at the company for 10 years, <a href="http://www.fox4news.com/news/texas/56590692-story" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 2px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(167, 198, 229); border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: background 0s ease 0s, all 0.25s ease 0s, all 0s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none;">told</a>Fox 4 News. "Somedays I just kind of look down the hall and say I can't believe these are my bosses, and they’re the best."</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 28px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 28px;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Thompson told Fox 4 News some of her employees are using the bonus to retire early, remodel homes , take vacations, and pay for their children's college, she just takes comfort knowing it’s in her bank account for a rainy day.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 28px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 28px;" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" color="color" rgb="rgb" background-color="background-color"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hilcorp was named on the 2015 'Fortune 100 'Best Companies to Work For' list for the third year in a row.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></font></strong></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28082019/bp-hilcorp-sale-alaska-oil-gas-pipeline-prudhoe-bay-safety-concerns"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28082019/bp-hilcorp-sale-alaska-oil-gas-pipeline-prudhoe-bay-safety-concerns</font></a></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>One of Alaska's biggest oil producers—BP—announced Tuesday that it is selling all of its Alaska operations to Hilcorp, a privately-owned company with a troubled safety and environmental track-record.</b></font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The $5.6 billion sale includes BP's stakes in the Trans Alaska Pipeline and the Prudhoe Bay oil field, one of the nation's largest and once its most productive oil field, which BP currently operates.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Hilcorp is a relatively new player in Alaska's oil and gas industry. The Houston-based company's business strategy has been to purchase older oil and gas fields and try to make them profitable—a track-record experts say it hopes to repeat with its new acquisitions.</b></font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Since entering Alaska in 2012, Hilcorp has rapidly expanded across the state, from the underwater gas fields in Cook Inlet to the oil fields along the North Slope.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">As it has done so, it has amassed a long list of <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09082017/hilcorp-alaska-oil-gas-offshore-drilling-arctic-expansion-environment-violations" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">safety and environmental violations</a>. Among the most egregious incidents:<b> three workers were nearly killed</b> in an accident in 2015; a <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14042017/hilcorp-alaska-cook-inlet-temporary-fix-made-pipeline" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">methane leak</a> from an underwater pipeline was not stopped for months in 2017; and in late 2018, an oilfield worker was killed at Milne Point on the North Slope.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span id="docs-internal-guid-251fab1c-7fff-e703-defc-6f06c7a416e8" style="box-sizing: inherit;">The company's litany of violations led to unusually strong language from state regulators, who wrote in a </span><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3921678-2015-11-12-AOGCC-Notice-of-Proposed-Enforcement.html#document/p5/a367600" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">letter to Hilcorp in 2015</a> saying that a disregard for regulatory compliance was "endemic to Hilcorp's approach to its Alaska operations," and that "Hilcorp's conduct is inexcusable."</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Hilcorp has had a terrible record during its time in Alaska," said Lois Epstein, an engineer and Arctic Program director at The Wilderness Society. "None of those things should have happened."</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the most recent of those incidents, a 36-year-old contract worker, <a href="https://www.alaskapublic.org/2018/12/13/state-and-police-investigating-accident-that-led-to-north-slope-workers-death/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Shawn Huber</a>, was killed when he was struck by a drilling pipe while working on a drilling rig. Hilcorp owned 50 percent of the Milne Point facility and was the main operator at the time of the accident. With the sale announced Tuesday, it becomes the full owner and operator.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The sale also includes BP's 50 percent share in the <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17082017/hilcorp-arctic-offshore-drilling-oil-eis-environment-impact-statement" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Liberty Project</a>, an ambitious plan to construct a gravel island five miles off Alaska's northern coast for drilling rigs and production facilities.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> A reservoir there holds an estimated 150 million barrels of oil, but the project has proven to be more complicated and costly than BP expected when it began the permitting process two decades ago.</span></font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">That project is <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/oil/061719-us-department-of-the-interior-mulls-issue-with-hilcorps-liberty-project-spill-plan" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">awaiting final permits</a> related to its oil spill contingency plan. According to the <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3692717-Liberty-Development-and-Production-Plan.html#document" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Liberty Development and Production Plan</a>submitted by Hilcorp in 2014, a worst-case accident there could initially spill more than 90,000 barrels a day into a remote location that is covered with ice most of the year.</font></p><div class="media media-element-container media-image_centered_medium" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 648px; margin: 0.25em auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><figure id="file-273150" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" class="file file-image file-image-png" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[map]</font></figure></div><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">With the sale, Hilcorp also assumes BP's shares of several pipelines, including 49 percent ownership of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, and of other oil fields. Hilcorp did not respond to a request for comment.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BP is selling its Alaska assets in order to shift its business toward more profitable regions. The company has a goal of divesting $10 billion by 2020.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We have been steadily reshaping BP, focusing investment on assets that offer the best opportunities for competitive growth within our portfolio, while continuing to strengthen our financial performance and better positioning the company for a low-carbon future," said Brett Clanton, senior director of BP's U.S. media affairs.</font></p><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Why the Sale Could Hurt Alaska's Finances</font></h3><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hilcorp first purchased major stakes in BP's North Slope holdings in 2014. At the time, oil production in the area had slowed dramatically—to just a fraction of the peak it hit in 1988. The purchase by Hilcorp was viewed as a potential savior for the state, which relies heavily on oil revenue for its budget.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This time, the purchase may have different implications for the state's finances.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Our corporate taxes are riddled with loopholes," said former 16-year state legislator Les Gara. "Hilcorp is an S corporation, and if you're an S corporation, no matter how high your profits, you do not pay corporate taxes."</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Taxpayer information is confidential in Alaska, but Gara said the best estimates put BP's corporate taxes at between $30 million and $70 million. During his final term in office, Gara said he attempted to pass a bill that would close that loophole for highly profiting companies, but he didn't have the support.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now, with the state's budget in a particularly dire state, he wonders if legislators might think differently about it. Gov. Michael Dunleavy has slashed the state budget—making major cuts to key social services, including Medicaid, help for the elderly and homeless, and the <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19072019/alaska-university-budget-cut-dunleavy-arctic-research-future-students-climate-change" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">state's university system</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Given the extraordinary, serious financial problems in the state of Alaska right now, if this means tens of millions of dollars less in revenue for the state of Alaska, that's going to have very serious impacts," Epstein said.</font></p><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.333; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">BP's Had Deep Pockets in Event of Oil Spill</font></h3><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BP's record in Alaska is not pristine, either. In 2017 alone, the company had at least 27 accidents including five that put workers' lives at risk. That resulted in an effort to "reset" the safety culture there, according to internal documents found in <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/bp-alaska-resets-safety-after-five-accidents#.mlVXzDggaA" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" transparent="transparent" box-sizing="box-sizing" inherit="inherit" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none" font-weight="font-weight" bold="bold">an investigation by Buzzfeed</a><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">.</span></font></h3><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Larry Persily, a former federal coordinator for Alaska gas projects, said many Alaskans still have a soft spot for the company. "BP has been here from the dawn of time, and for us time dawned when we found oil," he said.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Compared to BP's 60 years in the state, Hilcorp's presence represents just a blip on the timeline.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Some people have said they feel the state needs to keep a closer eye on Hilcorp," Persily said. "They don't have decades of experience here. This is a big bite for them to chew on."</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Should anything go horribly wrong—as it did for BP with the Deepwater Horizon spill—Hilcorp also doesn't have the deep pockets that BP does to pay to rectify the situation.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I think the majors have played a positive role in fostering safer workplaces in Alaska," said state legislator Zack Fields. "I hope that Hilcorp departs from previous practices and really embraces what traditionally has been the big three's record on safety."</font></p><div class="media media-element-container media-image_centered_medium" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 648px; margin: 0.25em auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><figure id="file-273155" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" class="file file-image file-image-jpeg with-caption" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><figcaption class="field field-name-field-image-caption field-type-text-long field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 2em; line-height: 1.6; border-right: 1px solid rgb(231, 231, 231); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(231, 231, 231); border-left: 1px solid rgb(231, 231, 231); border-image: initial; border-top: none;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Some of BP's facilities at Prudhoe Bay, shown in 2006. Infrastructure at Prudhoe Bay is also used by other oil operations on Alaska's North Slope. Credit: BP via Getty Images</font></p></div></figcaption></figure></div><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Fields said BP had also been more forthright about the threat from climate change. "I hope that Hilcorp embraces that kind of recognition of the very dire threat climate change poses to the state of Alaska," he said.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another thing that gives some Alaskans pause is the fact that Hilcorp is privately held.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"That means they're less transparent to the public and less subject to being responsive to shareholders and I'm worried about that," Epstein said.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rowena Gunn, an energy analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said BP's sell-off is part of a shift in Alaska's oil fields that has put more control in the hands of a few companies, including Hilcorp.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"This will not be the last deal in the region," Gunn <a href="https://www.woodmac.com/press-releases/bp_sells_alaska_business_to_hilcorp/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">wrote</a>. "ExxonMobil may be next to follow BP, Anadarko, Pioneer and Marathon in the list of companies having sold out of Alaska. So far ConocoPhilips and Hilcorp have played the consolidating roles—now controlling over 72 percent of Alaska's production."</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">Published Aug. 28, 2019</font></span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></font></strong></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Big-Money Backers</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The group’s <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00542902" style="text-decoration-line: none;">million-dollar-plus budget</a> is funded by a bevy of high-dollar backers. The list of donors during the <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?sort=A&cmte=C00542902&cycle=2014&Page=1" style="text-decoration-line: none;">2014</a> and <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?cmte=C00542902&cycle=2016" style="text-decoration-line: none;">2016</a> election cycles includes:</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Hedge-fund billionaire Paul Singer specializes in “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2011/nov/15/vulture-funds-key-players?intcmp=122" style="text-decoration-line: none;">vulture capitalism</a>” </b>– purchasing distressed assets and squeezing every last dollar out of them. Singer’s fund earned the “<a href="http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1586&context=lcp" style="text-decoration-line: none;">vulture</a>” label by purchasing the debts of distressed governments like Panama and Peru, and then pressuring the authorities to force repayment. In Argentina’s case, the fund’s tactics including <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2012/10/05/the-real-story-behind-the-argentine-vessel-in-ghana-and-how-hedge-funds-tried-to-seize-the-presidential-plane/#2cab0e9625aa" style="text-decoration-line: none;">seizing an Argentine vessel</a> docked in an African port.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Singer, a major Republican donor, is the founder of a hedge fund called Elliott Management Corporation. He <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zephyr-teachout-paul-singer-debate_us_57b21d62e4b0718404126567" style="text-decoration-line: none;">flooded</a> New York’s 19th Congressional district with money last year in order to successfully defeat reform Democrat Zephyr Teachout. Teachout offered to debate Singer, whom she labeled “the actual voice” of her opposition, but he declined to respond. Singer was America Rising’s largest reported donor.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Wrestling magnate Linda McMahon, who ran <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/with-wrestling-hire-trump_b_13523884.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">the World Wrestling Entertainment empire</a> with husband Vince McMahon and is now Donald Trump’s head of the Small Business Administration. McMahon gave <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/10/16/wwe-co-founder-linda-mcmahon-gave-6-million-to-pro-trump-super-pac/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">$6 million to Trump’s campaign</a> – money Trump has reportedly used in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-used-258000-from-his-charity-to-settle-legal-problems/2016/09/20/adc88f9c-7d11-11e6-ac8e-cf8e0dd91dc7_story.html?utm_term=.e7ef45fe9e7d" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ethically dubious ways</a>.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Hilcorp Energy Corporation, a Texas-based fossil fuels company that has been sued for <a href="https://www.law360.com/articles/886472/hilcorp-can-t-beat-la-fishermen-s-clean-water-act-claims" style="text-decoration-line: none;">violating the Clean Water Act</a> in Louisiana. Hilcorp allegedly damaged oyster beds by dredging canals without the proper permission, using a destructive technique known as “<a href="http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2016/07/oyster_growers_sue_hilcorp_for.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">prop washing</a>.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The company was recently ordered to clean up a 4,200-gallon oil spill in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, and last month oil was <a href="http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2017/03/oil_gas_leaking_from_abandoned.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">reportedly leaking</a> from an abandoned Hilcorp well head on the lower Mississippi. Also in March, regulators <a href="https://www.adn.com/business-economy/energy/2017/03/06/federal-agency-says-leaking-cook-inlet-gas-line-is-a-hazard-and-must-be-repaired/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">reported</a> that a Hilcorp gas line in Alaska’s Cook Inlet was leaking 225,000 to 335,000 cubic feet of gas per day and demanded that it be repaired or shut down.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Hedge-fund billionaire Kenneth Griffin, a self-described “<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2015/05/15/king-ken-recovered-citadel-chief-takes-the-hedge-fund-throne.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Reagan Republican</a>” who once <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2015/05/15/king-ken-recovered-citadel-chief-takes-the-hedge-fund-throne.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">testified</a> before the U.S. Senate that U.S. stock markets are the “fairest, most transparent, resilient and competitive markets anywhere in the world” – a claim that would surprise hundreds of thousands of documented victims of Wall Street investor and borrower fraud.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Health insurance executive Mike Fernandez, who became a <a href="http://www.floridatrend.com/article/15414/on-the-other-side-of-a-billion" style="text-decoration-line: none;">billionaire</a> in the HMO business before becoming a major Republican donor. Fernandez, who <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/elections-2016/article48067815.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">supported</a> Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush, initially opposed Trump in 2016 and supported Hillary Clinton. In December 2015 Fernandez declared Trump “<a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article48067815.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">unelectable</a>.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Real estate tycoon Ronald Weiser. <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/michigan_republican_ron_weiser.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Weiser</a>, a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party who also acted as the Republican National Committee’s national finance chairman, was a member of Donald Trump’s fundraising committee in 2016.</font></p>