EXECUTIVE TEAM
James Archer, President & Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Archer has over 35 years of experience in oil and gas production chemicals, and six years of experience in production and natural gas processing. He has considerable expertise in foam assisted lift (FAL), using liquid foaming agents to produce marginal wells in both conventional and unconventional oil and gas plays, and he is recognized as a leader in technology for gas enhancement. Mr. Archer founded Multi-Chem and under his leadership grew his company into the third largest specialty production chemical company globally and successfully sold Multi-Chem to Halliburton in 2011. Mr. Archer holds dual associate degrees in Management and Marketing from Midland College and continued his education in Business Administration at the University of Texas Permian Basin, and is a member of the American Petroleum Institute, Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), and the National Association of Corrosion Engineers.
Jon Grottis, VP & Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Grottis has over 15 years of experience within the oil and gas sector. His expertise lies in optimizing operations, finding innovative ways to enhance efficiency, and establishing cost-effective structures. Notably, he played a significant role in enhancing production and development operations at KJ Energy. Before joining KJ Energy, Mr. Grottis held a key financial role at Multi-Chem, a Halliburton affiliate. He also managed financial planning and oversaw financial aspects in previous positions. Additionally, he has a background in managing finances, risk, and credit operations, including complex financial activities. Mr. Grottis has also been instrumental in various mergers and acquisitions, both domestically and internationally. He holds a degree in Finance and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Halliburton selected Mr. Grottis to participate in a business leadership program at Mays Business School, Texas A&M.
Marcus Lopez, Executive Vice President & General Counsel
Mr. Lopez represented Multi-Chem between 2003 and 2009 as outside counsel and joined the Multi-Chem executive team in 2009 serving as Vice-President & General Counsel overseeing the entire company’s legal affairs in 17 countries until selling to Halliburton in October 2011. Prior to joining Multi-Chem, Mr. Lopez was a partner with the law firm Jackson Walker, LLP, where he serviced clients in oil and gas, oilfield related services, energy, and heavy machinery industries and gained extensive experience in mergers & acquisitions, debt and equity financings, and international commercial law. Mr. Lopez is a former Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation where he investigated various white collar and public corruptions violations. Mr. Lopez received his B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Texas A&M University in 1993 and his J.D. degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1996.
Donnie Carona, Director of Finance
Mr. Carona has an extensive experience in the oil & gas industry having started his career as a Financial Analyst for Silver Creek Oil & Gas for 4 years. Donnie joined KJ Energy in 2016 and has been promoted multiple times to his current role of Director of Finance. He holds both a Bachelor of Business Administration and Masters in Business Administration from the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University. Donnie was also a student athlete during his time as a member of the Texas Tech Football team.
Casey Watson, Controller
Casey Watson has over 15 years of accounting experience in various industries including tax and audit, manufacturing and oil and gas. Casey joined KJ Energy in 2019 and her work extends beyond the traditional accounting roles to include support and development for database management and the production application. Casey is a CPA and holds a Bachelors of Business Administration in Accounting from Abilene Christian University.
TECHNICAL TEAM
John Fultz, Production Manager
Mr. Fultz has 15 years of experience in the Oil & Gas industry focusing on Completions, Production, and Facility Operations Management across North Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas. He began his career with Riverstone Energy and has since held management positions with Memorial Resource Development and Tanos Exploration I, II, & III. In his career, he has played a pivotal role in developing, executing, and managing countless projects including completions, new field development, existing production, and large acquisitions. In recent years, John served as Director of Operations where he managed and supervised all Completion, Facility, & Production Operations for a multi rig drilling program targeting Haynesville Shale, Cotton Valley, and Travis Peak formations. This also included the supervision and mentoring of numerous Superintendents, Foreman, Lease Operators, Consultants, and crews in North Louisiana and East Texas. John attended Louisiana State University from 2002 through 2006 where he studied Business Management & Administration. John currently serves as the Production Operations Manager for KJ Energy.
Mark Gallagher, Chief Geologist
Mr. Gallagher has 36 years of oil and gas exploration and development experience with the last 26 years specializing in East Texas and North Louisiana. He worked for Texaco, Sonat, Samson, Encana and Rosewood before joining KJ Energy in 2016. He has worked all the major geologic plays in the Ark-La-Tex including the Pettet, Travis Peak, Cotton Valley, Bossier, CV Pinnacle Reef and Haynesville Shale plays. In his career, he has recommended and executed hundreds of development wells and numerous wildcats with new discoveries in the Pettet and Travis Peak of Angelina County, Cotton Valley Sandstone in Harrison and Gregg Counties and the Cotton Valley Lime in Navarro County. Throughout his career, he has mentored new geologists providing his experiences in helping them in their career paths. Mark is a graduate of the University of New Orleans with a B.S. in Geology. He is an active member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologist (AAPG), receiving the AAPG Distinguished Service Award in 2013. He is a Certified Professional Geologist by the Division of Professional Affairs of the AAPG and a licensed geologist in Texas and Louisiana.
Murphy Jordan, Pipeline and Completions Manager
Mr. Jordan has 38 years of experience in Oil and Gas Operations Management. He has worked extensively in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and the Gulf of Mexico in management of drilling, completion, production, pipeline facility construction operations. He has held Management and Supervisory positions with Key Production Company, SandRidge Energy and Tanos Exploration LLC. Murphy founded and was President of J-CO Production Management for 17 years that provided contract drilling, completion, workover and pipeline-facility consultants along with Lease Operators, roustabout and Frac flow back crews to operators working in the Ark-La-Tex Region. His company and he personally worked for clients including XTO, NEG, SandRidge Energy, Devon Energy, Mitchell Energy and SONAT Gas along with several other Independent Oil & Gas companies.
Kino Vela, Drilling Manager
Kino Vela started his oil and gas career with Nabors drilling in 2004, and later at H&P Drilling. Mr. Vela has developed in-depth knowledge of the drilling operation having started as a floor hand and moving through the ranks up to rig manager and currently serving as Drilling Supervisor for KJ Energy LLC. He has held numerous positions throughout the industry, and has accumulated vast drilling experience throughout Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Mr. Vela has supervised large drilling operations with an emphasis on downhole tool efficiencies in horizontal drilling applications.
His experience in both DC and AC powered rigs gives KJ Energy the ability to optimize rig selection for efficiency and performance throughout East Texas. In addition to Mr. Vela’s drilling experience, he brings knowledge of Health and Safety compliance along with certifications in well control, and expertise in Drill Bit Optimization Systems for East Texas.