Published: October 20, 2023 |

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Jim Henry
[Click image to enlarge]

A Top Hand. A philanthropist. A top oilman whose dabbling in the Permian Basin oilfields opened the Wolfberry play that paved the way for the shale revolution that reenergized the Permian Basin.

Jim Henry was all those things and more, a legend in Midland, the Permian Basin and the oil and gas community. He passed away Tuesday, October 17 at the age of 89.

Services will be “a time of celebration. That’s what Jim wanted to celebrate and move forward,” said Danny Campbell, co-manager at Henry Resources and responsible for overseeing Henry’s investments.

“He was so much about the employees, about the employees,” Campbell told the Reporter-Telegram by telephone.

He noted that Henry had turned 89 on Sept. 23 and “was always challenging us over what was next for the next seven years.” Campbell said Henry and his wife were always thinking of others, thinking of doing the right thing, “looking for the win-win.”

Henry frequently said the oilpatch built his company and family and he wanted to give back, Campbell recalled.

With his philanthropy, “Jim wanted to build a fence at the top of the cliff and not ambulances at the bottom,” he recalled.

“Jim was one of the finest human beings to ever walk the earth. Jim’s generosity is legendary, and in a region known for its philanthropy and community involvement, Jim legacy stands heads above most,”  Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, told the Reporter-Telegram by telephone.

Henry was passionate about the Permian Basin, Shepperd added, “and fortunately for all of us, one of his passions was the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. He was one of our longest and strongest supporters. He also served as PBPA chairman and was awarded our Top Hand award.”

Shepperd called Henry a mentor to many and recounted the countless hours he spent with Shepperd, mentoring him and explaining his vision for the Permian Basin oil and gas industry and the PBPA.

“Jim wanted the PBPA to be strong like the Permian Basin and put a great deal of his time, talent and treasure into pursuing those goals. (And) all of that is on top of his professional successes in the industry. The success of the Henry companies rival any of the operators in the history of the Permian Basin,” Shepperd said.

Henry was born in Andagoya, Colombia, where his father was a mining engineer, the Henry family returned to the U.S. in 1939, living in Marion, Kentucky. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in petroleum engineering.

After working for Humble Oil and Refining then Skelly Oil Company and then Solar Oil Company, Henry formed his own company, H&L Consultants with Bob Landenberger in 1969. He bought out Landenberger in 1977 and founded Henry Petroleum, selling it to Concho Resources in 2008 and starting Henry Resources.

“Jim Henry was a leader in our community and in our industry,” said Tim Leach, advisor to the CEO at ConocoPhillips and the former chairman and CEO at Concho Resources.

“He built a quality company that became a foundational part of Concho and now ConocoPhillips. Without his visionary leadership, Midland and its impact on our nation would not be as strong,” added Leach.

A Spraberry expert, Henry helped advance George Mitchell’s horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques in the Spraberry, giving rise in the early 2000s to the Wolfberry play. Henry said his company had concentrated its drilling efforts in the Spraberry Trend and when Mitchell’s fracturing technique was brought to the Spraberry by Arco, “We latched onto it and took it throughout the entire Midland Basin after Arco dropped it,” said Leach.

He stepped down from day-to-day activities to focus on community involvement and charitable activities while remaining chief executive officer, having formed the Henry Foundation. Henry, his wife, Paula and three children have served on nonprofit boards and, personally and through the foundation, given more than $30 million since 1996 to organizations and entities from Midland College to the United Way of Midland to Leadership Midland, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Bush Tennis Center, and efforts to support local teachers.

“Jim Henry made a difference in his world. He set the example of how a true, fine gentlemen would walk through life. Jim would always do the right thing and he would sacrifice for us. His desire to help others was insatiable,” said Bobby Burns, former Midland mayor and current president and chief executive officer of the Midland Chamber of Commerce.

Source: Midland Reporter-Telegram

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