Forty Under 40: Justin Bennett, Piñon Midstream

Justin Bennett, founding partner and chief commercial officer of Piñon Midstream, is today’s featured Forty Under 40 honoree.

Piñon Midstream was formed in 2020 to provide a viable solution to the sour gas problem in the northeastern Delaware Basin. Bennett, who previously served as director of business development for Pinnacle Midstream II and Vaquero Midstream, described the formation of the company as both his proudest achievement as well as his most challenging project to date.

“In the past, sour gas assets have garnered little interest from investors in the midstream space, and investors in general were keeping money on the sidelines due to the uncertainty around COVID, so I had my work cut out for me,” he explained.

After connecting with Steven Green, a midstream veteran who serves as CEO of Piñon Midstream, Bennett said his good fortunes continued.

“We put together a plan to provide a sour gas solution in a highly constrained area of the Delaware Basin and went out to present that plan to private equity,” he said. “We were very fortunate to partner with the first group that we pitched.”

With financial backing from Black Bay Energy Capital and supported by underwriting commitments from Ameredev II, today, Piñon delivers a full menu of sour gas services in the northeastern Delaware Basin. The company recently announced its greenfield sour gas treating and carbon capture facility were placed into service with the initial capacity fully subscribed.

“We took a huge risk to build a company around providing a service that not many others wanted to provide,” Bennett said. “What started out as a long-shot dream has rapidly turned into a company of 20-plus people that is transforming the midstream space by providing a substantial sour gas and carbon capture/sequestration service to our customers.”

Click here for Justin Bennett’s complete profile.

Take a look at all of the Forty Under 40 honorees.