Speakers

Jim Curry is the Managing Shareholder of the Firm’s Washington, D.C. office.  Jim is an energy lawyer with years of experience in government service and private practice helping clients navigate difficult regulatory and strategic challenges throughout the energy sector.  His clients include pipelines, utilities, energy producers, LNG terminals, investors, technology companies, chemical makers, and hydrogen infrastructure developers.  Jim takes a pragmatic, business-minded approach, informed by an understanding of the energy markets and regulatory policy.  Applying his experience from day-to-day safety regulatory counseling, dozens of enforcement matters, internal and government investigations, rulemakings, energy projects and in appellate litigation, Jim identifies and executes creative legal and strategic pathways to help clients achieve their objectives.

Jim started his career in energy and transportation safety as an attorney the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).  Since departing government service, he has broadened his practice to include counseling on other DOT modal safety programs, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).  Jim also advises clients on National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident investigations, Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits and in state regulatory proceedings.  Through this cross-cutting safety regulatory work, he has developed first-hand experience with many energy-related national safety and engineering codes and standards, including those for pipelines, utility-scale battery energy storage systems, and LNG facilities.  Together, these experiences have given Jim a unique understanding of safety and regulatory risk management, corporate safety culture and how each bears on credibility and the bottom line.

Jim serves as a member of the Firm’s Energy Management Team and in a number of its energy-related practice groups.  He is a frequent speaker at energy conferences and has published numerous articles on energy law and policy.

Andrew joined Enverus (PLS) in 2014 and is part of the Enverus Market Research Group with a focus on M&A. He specializes in deal analysis, research and valuations for upstream assets and tracks industry M&A trends and outlooks. He has a BBA in Finance from Texas A&M University and a JD from The University of Texas School of Law.

John Harpole is founder and president of Mercator Energy LLC, a natural gas services, brokerage and energy market analysis company. Mercator assists both producers and end users throughout the United States in selling and sourcing natural gas supplies. Mercator manages more than 2 Bcf per day of natural gas in seven states. Mercator also conducts specific research projects for client groups exploring the impact of industry trends on various regional markets. Mercator’s analysis on “Poverty and Fracking” was featured in a Wall Street Journal editorial and on Fox News. 

During his career, Harpole has provided strategic advice and counseling to independent oil and gas producers, power producers, major gas and electric utilities, hedge funds and energy traders, retail and wholesale energy marketers, equipment vendors and large energy users typically at the CEO level.  Harpole has travelled to China on two occasions to instruct employees of PetroChina and members of the Central Parties Pricing Committee on the regulatory and marketing history of natural gas in the United States. It marked the first time a foreigner was allowed to teach a course to PetroChina marketing employees.

Harpole is a Board Member of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, the Leadership Program of the Rockies, University of Colorado’s Global Energy Management Program (GEM), the Global Institute of Church Management Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, Italy and the Unreported Story Society.  John currently serves on the Board of Directors of Benedictine College.  

Harpole has also been named to the Denver Business Journal's Who's Who in Energy for years 2014-2019.

Emily McClain is a vice president on Rystad Energy’s Gas Markets team. In her role she is responsible for providing natural gas expertise focused on the North Americas gas market, including the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Her responsibilities include coverage of upstream, midstream and downstream gas as well as pricing analysis across different North American price hubs. She has more than 10 years of experience in the oil and gas industry.

Prior to joining Rystad, McClain held various roles with the last being at IHS Markit in Houston as a research analyst in upstream gas basins and global asset valuations. Before that she worked in Pittsburgh at Williams as a GIS analyst and began her career at Shell as a geophysicist for their Marcellus and Utica assets.

McClain holds an MS in geology from West Virginia University, which has afforded her the opportunity to work for various companies and roles.

Kyle Mork is President and CEO of Greylock Energy.  He began his career with Halliburton Energy Services before moving to Energy Corporation of America where he served in a variety of operations and management-focused roles, ultimately culminating in the role of CEO.   In fall 2017 he launched Greylock Energy, an oil and natural gas, exploration, production, and midstream company formed with ArcLight Capital Partners.  Mork holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.  He is Past-Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences and also serves on the Cornell Engineering College Council. He is active in the Young Presidents’ Organization and Chair of the Mountain State Chapter.  He and his wife Kirsten live in Charleston, West Virginia with their three children.

Jean Mosites is a shareholder in the Environmental, Energy and Natural Resources, and the Public Sector groups of Babst Calland. Her practice includes client counseling on environmental compliance in the energy sector, resolving liabilities under federal and state remediation programs, as well as administrative appeals and environmental litigation in state and federal courts.

Ms. Mosites has assisted clients responding to agency requests for information, notices of violation and orders issued under Pennsylvania’s Oil and Gas Act, Clean Streams Law, and Solid Waste Management Act, as well as federal statutes including the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. She regularly advises clients on regulatory matters encountered in the development of the Marcellus Shale, including UIC well permitting, gas storage, water sourcing, handling and disposal, gas migration investigations, and site restoration obligations.

Ms. Mosites graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.A. in Political Science and an M.A. in International Relations. She graduated magna cum laude from Duquesne University School of Law, where she was the Executive Comment Editor for Duquesne Law Review and a top ten semifinalist in the Carol Los Mansmann Oral Argument Competition. Ms. Mosites interned with the Honorable D. Michael Fisher and the Honorable Joy Flowers Conti. She served on Peters Township’s Council from 1999 until 2004, representing the home-rule community-at-large, serving as the vice-chair and sitting on pension and grievance committees.

Prior to joining the firm in 2012, Mr. Petrie was Vice Chairman of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Previously, he was a co-founder of Petrie Parkman & Co. Mr. Petrie was a former Managing Director and Senior Oil Analyst of The First Boston Corporation. During his career, Mr. Petrie has been an active advisor on more than $250 billion of energy related mergers and acquisitions, including many of the largest in the industry. Among his other assignments, Mr. Petrie led the teams that advised the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on its natural gas initiative, the State of Alaska on gas pipeline options, and the U.S. Department of Energy on the sale of the Elk Hills oilfield. Mr. Petrie has a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and received his Master of Science in Business Administration from Boston University. In December 2005, Mr. Petrie received an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines. He is also a member of the CFA Institute.

Nick Woodruff joined RBC Capital Markets in 2013 and has more than 15 years of investment banking and industry experience devoted exclusively to the energy industry. Mr. Woodruff’s primary focus at RBC is leading asset divestitures, corporate level acquisitions, and strategic advisory assignments for clients in the upstream sector along with coverage of capital market activities. Mr. Woodruff is a leader in RBC’s energy transition task force with a focus on carbon accounting.  Prior to RBC, Mr. Woodruff started his career with ExxonMobil serving in a variety of engineering, planning and gas marketing roles in the U.S. Mr. Woodruff earned a B.S. in Engineering from Purdue University and an M.B.A. from Rice University.

Mr. Wright joined Texaco, Inc. in 1974 at the Bellaire Research Laboratories and was responsible for experimentation and implementation of various enhanced oil recovery projects. He worked on chemical, C02 and thermal recovery projects. He was an instructor for Texaco, Inc. in Venezuela and various domestic divisions for PVT/C02 Miscible Flooding in-house courses.

Mr. Wright joined First City National Bank of Houston in 1978 as a reservoir engineer in the Energy Division. He was responsible for oil and gas reserves evaluations, property acquisition and sales studies and documentation of collateral for energy-related loans. Later he was a Vice President with direct account responsibility to secured and unsecured borrowing independent oil and gas companies. Mr. Wright joined Sipes, Williamson & Associates, Inc. in 1982 with the charge of opening an office in Nashville, Tennessee to serve the company’s client base throughout the Appalachian Basin. He served as Vice President, Division Manager and Corporate Marketing Director of the then named Williamson Petroleum Consultants, Inc. in the Nashville Division which opened in April 1983 to mid-1988.

In 1988, Mr. Wright founded his own firm, Wright & Company, Inc. with the mission to deliver client-driven service that is unparalleled by any firm in any industry, in the world. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas, member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and a member of the Order of the Engineer.

Bio coming soon!

With a diploma earned in Petroleum Engineering Technology providing his foundations in drilling, completions, reservoir engineering, and geology as well as over a decade of experience helping operators solve downhole challenges with innovative solutions, Nick brings a holistic, life of well approach in developing solutions. Most of his career has been spent working in the unconventional oil plays throughout the continental USA and Canada, providing operators with well construction solutions to prevent sustained casing pressure, as well as reducing non-productive time by utilizing robotic interventions to make operations more efficient. Recently I have helped a large DJ Basin operator improve well integrity to prevent sustained casing pressure through drilling and completions, including frac operations. I am also currently collaborating with operators to optimize re-completion liner systems to ensure zonal isolation of the re-frac liner while maximizing liner flow area.

Josh J. Viets was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in February 2022. He most recently served as the Vice President, Delaware Basin in the Permian Basin Business Unit for ConocoPhillips.

Viets began his career with ConocoPhillips in 2002, working in a variety of technical and leadership roles in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. He has held leadership positions in operations, engineering, subsurface and asset management. Earlier in his career, he worked as a reservoir and production engineer supporting a diverse set of assets across the ConocoPhillips portfolio.

He earned a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from Colorado School of Mines in 2001.​