Houston businessman Jeffery Hildebrand has made a fortune amidst a push by climate activists and environmentalist investors to accelerate a transition away from fossil fuels.
Since founding the energy company Hilcorp with local investor Jack Trotter in 1989, Hildebrand has had a meteoric rise from modest beginnings to becoming a multibillionaire by raking in profits from deserted oil wells, according to The Wall Street Journal.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Hildebrand was one of six inductees to the Texas Business Hall of Fame late last year. Now, he is one of the nation’s biggest oil and gas operators, purchasing and refurbishing oil wells ditched by bigger corporations folding to the demands of activist investors that have embraced environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies.
For instance, a company looking to meet its emissions-reduction goals might want to cheaply unload aging wells leaking methane, a gas considered even worse for the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
As a private company, Hilcorp is less susceptible to ESG demands and has different resources that might better utilize an older, underperforming oilfield.
“It’s what we’re good at,” Hildebrand wrote to WSJ in an email.
While the approach has allowed Hilcorp to grow significantly, it has also allegedly turned it into one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the industry, according to WSJ.
Hildebrand reportedly countered such claims by pointing to Hilcorp having reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by over 40% and cut methane emissions by 35% since 2019.
While exercising the ability to extend the lives of aging oil fields has been critical to Hilcorp’s success, the company’s leadership has also kept costs low by running a lean corporate structure with minimal redundancy in responsibility.
Through his work in refurbishing wells, Hildebrand has amassed a net worth estimated at $8.82 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, securing his place as the second-richest man in Houston, trailing only Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta.
Hildebrand also has an ambitious growth strategy for Hilcorp that might place it among the top 15 oil companies in the United States.
Hilcorp CEO Greg Lalicker told WSJ that the company aims to increase production by nearly 40% by 2026. If it succeeds, Hildebrand will give Hilcorp’s 3,000 employees $75,000 bonuses and gift an additional $25,000 to a charity of their choice.