Oklahoma: A Story Through Her People

ZENERGY, INC
Right and below: Robert M. Zinke.
Zenergy is a Tulsabased
oil and gas
exploration and production
and midstream
company that has
grown into one of the
industry’s most active
private oil and gas
enterprises. Although
the company maintains
a low profile, it
is presently active in
eight states, the Gulf
of Mexico, and three provinces in Canada.
The company has also operated internationally
in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Israel
and Nigeria.
The company, formerly known as Zinke
and Trumbo, Inc., was founded in 1980
when Robert M. Zinke and David Trumbo
met at Hawkins Oil and Gas Company
where Trumbo was a geoscientist, and Zinke
was vice president of exploration. The two
decided to branch out when they saw the
need for a quality prospect generation shop
with a strategic focus on the mid-continent
region of the United States. They actively
and successfully explored the mid-continent
region establishing numerous field discoveries
in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas
throughout the eighties and nineties.
Zinke, the son of a geologic engineer and
independent oil and gas operator, often
accompanied his father to the oil fields of the
Permian Basin as a boy. Zinke’s father often
tells the story of Zinke as a two year old
standing in the dog house of a drilling well in
the White Flat Field in Nolan County, Texas,
and the tool pusher warning him not to let
his youngster drink from the water can or he
will be wed to the business forever. Zinke
drank from that water can. As Zinke grew
into a young man, his father taught him
the fundamentals of petroleum geology,
geophysics, engineering and exploration
economics. Zinke’s experience growing up
with his father as a mentor was a profound
influence that remained throughout his life,
education and career. In 1975, he graduated
from the University of Oklahoma with a BBA
in petroleum land management.
As Zinke and Trumbo developed their
company, they gradually found success
not only in numerous field discoveries in
southwest Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Texas
panhandle but also in Utah, Arkansas, the
Gulf Coast of Texas, Louisiana, North Dakota
and Montana. Zinke believes that Zenergy’s
success is linked to the ability to adjust.
“We’ve been very adaptive throughout our
thirty-five year history, which is probably
why we are still in existence and why we’ve
been successful.” The company’s position in
the Bakken Shale oil play of the Williston
Basin in Montana, North Dakota and
Saskatchewan is a great example. “We initially
became involved in the Williston Basin in
1997, so we were definitely one of the early
movers and have been one the most active
and successful players in the Bakken/Three
Forks play. Zinke and Zenergy organized,
built and sold two Bakken oil and gas exploration
and production partnerships and one
midstream entity. A total of approximately
$653 million dollars in debt and equity
capital were invested in these three efforts
and accumulative sales proceeds totaled over
$3.1 billion.
O K L A H O M A : A S t o r y T h r o u g h H e r P e o p l e
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