So, who are all these people who can make such a difference?
Scott Kominiak- President
Scott is a founder and a principal in the firm and is responsible for management of our client energy portfolios and business development. He brings almost twenty years of broad energy trading and risk management experience to the ABQ Energy Group. He has been a consultant to the New Mexico Gas Marketing Bureau for economic analysis of markets for New Mexico's oil and gas production as well as detailing strategies for New Mexico producers to use NYMEX futures contracts to achieve better pricing. He has also worked for utilities, as well as marketing and trading companies. These include Pacific Gas & Electric Company where he worked as a lead member of the team negotiating the settlement to restructure PG&E's Canadian gas supply subsidiaries. This high-profile international trade conflict involved PG&E, two major pipelines, U.S. and Canadian government officials, and 200 natural gas producers. Several of the most commonplace features of the Canadian spot market (such as hub-style trading on the NOVA pipeline) are the direct result of the innovation and effort of Scott's work in resolving this very difficult and complex problem. Scott also led a company-wide team in the development of a comprehensive price risk management program for PG&E, including the fossil-fueled power plants (average managed volume of 350,000 MMBtu per day) and wholesale power trading activities. After leaving PG&E Scott joined Catex Vitol Gas, a gas marketing and trading company in Boston, where he established the company's business in the western U.S. and Canada. From Boston, Scott returned home to New Mexico where he worked for just over two years as the Director and General Manager of PNM Energy Marketing which managed a valuable portfolio of strategically controlled pipeline and storage assets in California, the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, and in the Gulf Coast regions. The realization that small business people need an alternative to the traditional energy marketer led Scott to leave PNM and create the ABQ Energy Group.
Bryan Fox- Vice President
Bryan joined the ABQ Energy Group as an associate in September 2000. He is responsible for the management of energy operations and economic market analysis. With 17 years in the energy industry Bryan has worked with such firms as Sedco Forex/Schlumberger, Southwest Gas, El Paso Electric (EPE), and NIPSCO Energy Services. His experiences are wide-ranging and include offshore drilling operations, regulatory policy analysis, natural gas trading and operations, generation fuel arbitrage, and energy market forecasting analysis. Bryan spent more than three years with El Paso Electric in the Economic Rates and Research and Load Forecasting Groups. As a Rate Analyst he prepared various marginal cost studies and economic analysis that were submitted to corporate directors as support to their position against the City of El Paso’s attempt to become the local power provider. He prepared rate schedules and rate analysis incorporated into testimony supporting the 1994 rate case to the State of Texas. As a forecaster in the Load Forecasting Group, Bryan prepared various long and short- term demand forecasts, as well as energy and customer forecasts. The annual long-term forecasts were utilized for the fuel arbitrage and financial forecasts. In 1995 the long-term forecast was an intricate factor in the final EPE financial reorganization plan. Bryan also performed forecasting analysis regarding potential loss of large customers with the future advent of deregulation. After leaving El Paso Electric Bryan joined NESI Power Marketing a subsidiary of NIPSCO Industries. Bryan's work in analyzing and forecasting wholesale and utility market supply and demand fundamentals was critical to operational efficiency and profitability in the deregulated market. He particularly specialized in preparing coal and natural gas tolling proposals in an attempt to secure power supply sources to optimize market opportunities. Bryan worked closely with the power sales group identifying markets and evaluating power proposals. More recently, Bryan served as the Materials Coordinator for New Offshore Construction with Sedco-Forex/Schlumberger (now Transocean Sedco Forex) in Houston, TX. He was responsible for purchasing and logistics coordination for all newly built rigs, including the state of the art 5th generation deepwater semi-submersible rigs and the Trident 20 jack up. Bryan purchased and managed the shipment of more than $700 Million in equipment and services for the rig construction. Bryan manages ABQ’s Houston office and coordinates gas operations as well as new business development. He also supports ABQ’s economic analysis and consulting activities.
Geri Landry - Associate
A former client of ABQ, Geri joins us as an Associate with responsibilities for new business development, sales, and financial analytic consulting. She brings nearly 20 years of broad energy experience including exploration production companies, pipelines, utilities, and financial institutions. Through that experience, Geri developed exceptional database and financial modeling skills. During her career, Geri’s services have included contract analysis, wellhead and pipeline balancing, market pricing analysis, audits and settlement negotiation. While working with international bank BNP Paribas, Geri oversaw the complete financial and administrative management of a large and complex portfolio of natural gas production assets. Management of these volumetric production payments required operator oversight, reserve depletion modeling, and ongoing audit of marketing revenues and expenses, compliance reporting and cash management. She was also instrumental in the divestiture of those assets. Geri will be a primary point of contact for new producer clients as ABQ seeks to expand its asset management business. She will also be a member of our consulting team in the areas of valuation and revenue auditing.
Merle Dennis - Associate
Merle joined the ABQ Energy Group as an Associate in early 2003.
With his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, and background in gas
accounting, and computer modeling, Merle supports our group’s gas
operations accounting. He also serves as an expert consultant in the
areas of gas settlement, measurement, and computer modeling, Merle
grew up in Bloomfield, New Mexico in the heart of the San Juan
Basin. He worked as a plant operator for Southern Union Refining,
then as a gas controller for Gas Company of New Mexico. He later
took over the chart calculation and chromatography lab for Sunterra
Gas Gathering and Gas Company of New Mexico. He then led the
formation of GCNM’s Transportation and Exchange Department at the
onset of the “Open Access” era in 1986. Merle formed the Settlement
Department for GCNM, Sunterrra Gas Gathering and Sunterra Refining
Company where he was responsible for the settlement of gas volumes
at the wellhead, through four processing plants and all
interconnections with interstate and intrastate pipelines. During
the past eleven years Merle has worked as an independent consultant
with many small producers, electric and gas utilities. His services
have included settlement audits, development of volume and cost
allocation models, storage models, witnessing and auditing
measurement, Joint Interest Billing audits, and the provision of
litigation support for many clients.
Susie Trujillo, C.P.A. - Accounting Associate
Susie joined the ABQ Energy Group as Controller in September 2005. She is responsible for the management of our oil and gas accounting processes, as well as client consulting in the areas of State, Federal, and Tribal compliance reporting, royalties, and production tax. Susie brings over 17 years of experience in accounting for pipeline operations, oil and gas compliance, energy trading, and general management to our business. Most notable in her career are the years spent with McElvain Oil & Gas, a large independent with interests throughout the San Juan Basin and elsewhere. During her seven years with McElvain in Santa Fe, NM, Susie served as Assistant Controller, and prior to this the Manager of Accounting and Gas Balancing. Her duties spanned all aspects of the accounting process from financial accounting and budget management to net-revenue production accounting for production in several federal units, as well as non-unitized production. Her responsibilities included oversight of production related capital accounting, calculation and submittal of tax and royalty reports and payments, and revenue distributions. Susie joins us from her most recent position with PNM, New Mexico's largest gas and electric utility. While there, Susie served as Manager of Energy Analysis and Accounting for PNM’s wholesale power trading unit. She began her career in energy with El Paso Natural Gas Company as an accounting analyst. Susie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Accountancy from the New Mexico State University. She earned her C.P.A. in 1991.
Other Independent Associates
In addition to the Principals and Associates of the firm, ABQ maintains a network of available Senior and Junior consulting resources from which it may draw as needed. These individuals possess a deep and wide range of experience in the natural gas, electric power, and oil industries including: 1) senior executive experience with large financial institutions, world oil companies, and both regulated and unregulated energy companies; 2) retail energy marketing and related operations; 3) development and management of supply forecasting models, and the management of risks associated with volatile pricing, weather, and volumes; 4) the application of hedging tools to both simple and complex business situations; 5) innovative commodity deal structuring, deal origination, securitizing, trading, financing, hedging, credit analysis and presentation, risk mitigation, and monitoring of assets; 6) regulatory and deregulatory processes; 7) new business development; and 8) large-scale asset acquisitions.