Jeff Hildebrand
Editor's note: This profile is part of Hart Energy's 50th anniversary Hall of Fame series honoring industry pioneers of the past 50 years and the Agents of Change (ACEs) who are leading the energy sector into the future.
In an industry like oil and gas, the global supermajors and big, public independents tend to steal the spotlights. But private producers, like Hilcorp Energy Co., still play a major role in the U.S. energy landscape.
Hilcorp, founded by Jeffrey Hildebrand, is one of the largest privately-held E&Ps in the country, with operations in Alaska and resource basins across the Lower 48.
Hildebrand completed his undergraduate degrees at The University of Texas at Austin and went to work at Exxon before returning to earn a Master of Science in petroleum engineering. He later founded Hilcorp in 1989.
Hilcorp has found success with a divergent strategy of zigging while the industry zags. Some big public E&Ps divest maturing assets and allocate their capital toward a few high-growth projects. Hilcorp’s strategy has been to buy up maturing assets late in their lifecycle and extract as much production from them as possible.
“[Privates] have often filled the void of a buyer of out-of-favor assets, and I think Jeff is a great example of that,” said Neal Dingmann, managing director of energy research at Truist Securities.
Hildebrand has exemplified the age-old business mantra of “Buy Low, Sell High,” Dingmann said. In 2020, Hilcorp scooped up BP’s entire upstream and midstream business in Alaska for $5.6 billion, ending a 60-year presence in the state by the UK supermajor.
BP had already made a series of divestments to Hilcorp as the company shifted its focus to deepwater and tight oil assets.
A few years earlier, Hilcorp spent $3 billion acquiring ConocoPhillips’ San Juan Basin assets covering about 1.3 million acres in New Mexico and Colorado. Hilcorp said the San Juan Basin assets were the kind of established, conventional assets it aims to secure and enhance.
“I think Jeff has been a great example at Hilcorp of building one of the most successful companies, oftentimes buying assets that other people don’t want,” Dingmann said.
Hildebrand has also made sure to sell high: in 2010, Hilcorp sold a 40% interest in its Eagle Ford acreage to KKR for $400 million. The deal valued the 100,000-acre play at $1 billion, with Hilcorp’s stake at around $600 million.
After growing the partnership to 140,000 net acres, Hilcorp sold its Eagle Ford assets to Marathon Oil for $3.5 billion in cash in 2011. KKR’s stake was valued at $1.13 billion; Hilcorp received the remaining proceeds.
Outside of oil and gas, Hildebrand is widely known for his philanthropy and contributions to political causes.
—Chris Mathews, Senior Editor, Shale/A&D