Dan Altena, PE

Dan Altena has over 30 years of varied experience in the oil and gas industry including leadership roles in commercial/business development, project development and management, operations and engineering. The breadth of his experience encompasses contract negotiations, asset transactions, oil and gas allocations/settlements, economic analysis, design and optimization of gathering systems and processing facilities, operational management/support and litigation support/expert testimony. Mr. Altena established Branch Energy Services, LLC in 2006 and served clients until 2010 when he joined Anadarko Petroleum Corporation as General Manager of Southern and Appalachian Midstream.

At Anadarko, he led a department responsible for commercial, engineering and operational activities for Eagle Ford, Marcellus, West Texas, East Texas and Midcontinent assets, areas that experienced substantial growth as Anadarko expanded its midstream footprint. Projects included multi-party joint ventures, new oil and gas gathering systems and gas processing plants, significant third-party processing agreements and asset “drop- downs” to Anadarko’s MLP affiliate. Mr. Altena reestablished his consulting practice at Branch Energy Services in 2013.

Prior to 2006 he was a Senior Consultant for Barnes & Click, Inc. where he conducted numerous due diligence evaluations related to the acquisition or financing of midstream assets, provided litigation and expert testimony services and conducted asset optimization projects. Before Branes & Click, he served in a variety of engineering, operations, commercial and management roles at Duke Energy Field Services, Union Pacific Resources and Exxon. Mr. Altena is a past chair of the Technical Committee of the Gas Processors Association, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas in Austin and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas.

Richard Black

Richard Black has over 35 years of experience in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries including time in Business Development and Commercial management positions. His experience includes various engineering, operations and commercial positions related to gas gathering, treating and process, gas transportation, commodity sales, downstream hydrocarbon marketing and logistics, project development and management, contract negotiations, strategic financial assessments, and due diligence reviews. Mr. Black also provides Expert Witness supports to clients.

Mr. Black began his career at Arco Oil and Gas Co. after receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He later worked as Midstream Business Development Manager at Vastar Resources, Inc. and Deepwater Commercial Manager at BP America, Inc. In 2003 Mr. Black founded Blackhawk Energy Consultants, an energy consulting firm providing business development, project evaluation and economic consultation for the Midstream Upstream and petrochemical energy industries. In 2014 he joined Siluria Technologies as Executive Vice President of Business Development where he helped develop and commercialize revolutionary catalytic processes that convert natural gas to olefins and fuels.

In January, 2018 Mr. Black joined Branch Energy Services, LLC as a partner and serves as a principal consultant utilizing his decades of varied industry experience to create value for E&P, midstream and downstream companies by working closely with clients in developing, evaluating, managing, executing and contracting projects in the full hydrocarbon value chain as well as providing Expert Witness supports to clients.