?Following a vigorous, productive life that included drilling more than 3,000 wells, independent oilman L. Franklin (Frank) Pitts died peacefully at home in Dallas on March 16, 2009. He was 98. (For an interview with Pitts, see Legends, Oil and Gas Investor, February 2008.)
Recognized by his peers and major trade organizations in the oil and gas industry for his leadership over 68 years, Pitts was born in 1910 in Wesson, Mississippi. He founded Pitts Oil Co. in Dallas and was an independent oil and gas producer for nearly seven decades. For 12 years, he was also chief executive officer of an international geophysical company.
Pitts was active in a wide range of industry, civic and political action groups. He served two terms as president of Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (Tipro). He was a member of the National Petroleum Council, and in 1984, was appointed to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, where he continuously served by appointment of all subsequent Texas governors.
In 1988, he became one of the first independents on the board of the Gas Research Institute. In 1991 he was named an All-American Wildcatter. Many other honors include the Chief Roughneck Award presented by IPAA in 1979. In April 2009, he will be honored with the 2009 Hero of Industry Award presented by the National Stripper Well Association.
Pitts was a frequent expert witness and advocate for the industry in Washington and Austin. He also made time for a significant number of other organizations. He helped found the Dallas Council on World Affairs and the Dallas Opera. He was chairman of the board for Baylor University Medical Foundation. At SMU, he was on the board of the Maguire Energy Institute, where he established four endowed scholarships, a scholars fund and an endowed lecture series in oil and gas.
Pitts is survived by his daughter, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, a brother and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. The family requests donations to the Maguire Energy Institute at SMU-Cox School of Business, P.O. Box 750333, Dallas, Texas 75275; or Baylor Health Care System Foundation, 3600 Gaston Avenue, Barnett Tower, Ste.100, Dallas, Texas 75246, or a charity of your choice.
IPAA staff member William V. (Bill) Moyer died March 2 after a 20-month-plus battle with cancer.?He was 52. Since 2001, Moyer had served at IPAA headquarters in Washington as vice president of capital markets, business development and membership. IPAA president and chief executive officer Barry Russell says, “Bill will be sorely missed throughout the American oil and natural gas industry and especially here among the IPAA staff. Our deepest sympathy is extended to his wife, Lisl, and their three young children.”
Bill Barrett Corp., Denver, (NYSE: BBG) reports that board member Philippe S.E. Schreiber died on Feb. 14, at age 68. He had been a director since February 2002.
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