Jon Rex Jones is one of those always cheerful, productive people who motivate others by sharing their enthusiasm and knowledge. He says he spends more time with Houston-based EnerVest Ltd., of which he is chairman and co-founder, than he does with two family-owned oil and gas businesses. One, Van Operating Co., in Albany, Texas, is operated by his brother, A.V., who was profiled in this space in January 2008. He is also chairman of Austin, Texas-based Jones Energy Ltd., operated by his son, Jonny.

But that’s not to say Jones isn’t involved. This second-generation oilman knows the business from top to bottom. During summers in high school and college, he worked in his geologist father’s business, where he helped lay flow lines and learned to read old well logs, looking for bypassed pays.

His first job out of the University of Oklahoma in 1957 was as a toolpusher on his father’s two rigs back in Albany, a town of just 1,800 people. (He served as mayor from 1975 to 1978.) But armed with his University of Oklahoma degree, Jones also “sat the wells” as the geologist in charge of examining well cuttings. Although he was doing two jobs, “They didn’t pay me double,” he jokes.

He has been active in numerous industry groups through the years, including the National Petroleum Council, and was chairman of the Independent Petroleum Association of America from 1983 to 1985. He is a founder of OU’s Sarkey’s Energy Center, and in May 2008, the university awarded him an honorary doctorate in humane letters.

EnerVest has launched fundraising efforts for its 12th private-equity fund, aiming for $1.5 billion from institutional investors to invest in the most favorable oil and gas acquisition market in a decade. At press time, the company had just closed an acquisition from Exco Resources Inc. for $145 million, including shallow Clinton and deeper Knox gas formations in Ohio and Pennsylvania. EnerVest now operates nearly 16,000 wells in 12 states, and is the No. 1 producer in the Texas Austin Chalk play.

“We like to operate,” says Jones. “You can control your costs and you have a better relationship with your investors if they know you are operating and in control. They trust you.”

Oil and Gas Investor caught up with Jones at the IPAA annual meeting, which he’s been attending since the 1960s, to get his perspective on the industry and his businesses. He was named IPAA’s Chief Roughneck in 1998.

Investor EnerVest has been named a Best Place to Work in Houston several times by various media. How do you motivate your employees?

Jones I am a real cheerleader because I believe enthusiasm is catching. John Walker (EnerVest chief executive officer) and I started this company in September 1992, and right from the start we talked about employees as much as we did which basins to go into. It’s a family-type relationship, which I know is a worn-out phrase, but it’s true. At EnerVest we celebrate birthdays, holidays, deal closings, Halloween, successful wells, etc.

We have an open atmosphere where everybody knows what is going on in the company, and everybody benefits with bonuses. Employees have the opportunity to speak their feelings about what we are doing. It’s a fun place to work, but challenging, as we constantly buy, exploit and sell assets. It’s a very active place.

Investor What is your role?

Jones I give advice and counsel as opposed to picking out things to buy. We have a great team for that and most of them have been in the business for a long while. John Walker does a great job of mentoring them. Cheerleading is what I do best, not second-guessing.

Investor How has the oil business changed?

Jones It’s changed in two ways. One is that technology has taken such a leap forward and you see it every day. The other thing that’s new is we have an administration that is very unfriendly to our industry. Sure, this business has been a whipping boy for years, but this time they are really after us. I haven’t seen this kind of attack before, and I go way back.

Investor What was the big issue in 1983-85?

Jones When I was president of IPAA, we nearly lost the percentage depletion allowance. The IPAA general counsel told me it was gone, on a Friday. I came home to the Houston Galleria that weekend and had 30 black T-shirts made saying, “Save Depletion!” I went back to Washington on Monday and made all the IPAA staff wear those shirts. I told them we were going to fight this with all we had and spend all our political capital if that’s what it took. We saved it. Now it’s under attack again. If we lose that, and intangible drilling costs, that would take 20% to 30% out of our capital to drill.

Investor Your best advice?

Jones It’s all about costs. You can take a No. 2 pencil to calculate the decline curve anywhere in North America. But the important thing is costs. If they get away from you, you’re dead in the water. In costly times, the only thing you can do is increase efficiency.