Martin D. White was the Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and President of DW Energy Group, LLC, the Managing Partner. A visionary in the oil and gas industry, Mr. White brought 25 years of experience working with high-quality operators. He was widely known for creating unique business opportunities that managed risk while providing economic benefits for both operators and his partners. His long-standing industry relationships gave his partners the opportunity to thrive in the oil and gas markets.
In November of 2008, Martin founded DW Energy Group, Inc. to continue exploring for oil and gas with highly respected operators and to provide drilling prospects. DW Energy Group, Inc. became DW Energy Group, LLC on September 1, 2010.
Mr. White grew up in New Mexico and graduated from Artesia High School in Artesia, New Mexico. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where he played college football. After graduating, he moved to Dallas in 1991 and launched his career in the oil and gas industry by participating in the financing of oil and gas acquisitions and drilling programs for several local energy companies.
In 1996, Martin founded his own company and served as its President. He formed alliances with some of the most respected operators in the industry, including Anadarko, BBX, EnCana, and XTO. These business relationships were financially successful through many different types of drilling programs, including on-shore and off-shore vertical wells, and complex single and bi-lateral horizontal wells. When Mr. White sold his interests in November of 2007, the company held a share of more than 100 million barrels of oil equivalent in net proven reserves.
DW Energy Group began drilling shallow wells in North Central Texas in 2009. Shortly thereafter, the company acquired a stake in an area of mutual interest in South East Texas operated by Border to Border Operating (BBX) and Anadarko. This play, at the time, consisted of deep bi-lateral horizontal Austin Chalk wells.
In 2011, DW Energy Group began acquiring acreage in the prolific Bakken Shale play in North Dakota. As of the first quarter of 2014, the company had acquired over 84 leases with more than 158 wells across 17 different operators, including major names such as Continental, Hess, Oasis, and Whiting.
During 2013, the South East Texas play with BBX shifted focus to drilling deep Woodbine wells. As of early 2014, nine of these wells had been drilled, and based on the success of those initial efforts, the operator identified over 60 additional Woodbine locations for near-term development.
In its last five years under Mr. White’s leadership, DW Energy Group established over fifty drilling partnerships, involving interests in more than 130 wells. These wells produced over 9 million barrels of oil and 33 BCF of natural gas.
Outside the energy industry, Martin was deeply involved in men’s amateur baseball. As of November before his passing, his teams had won nine national tournament championships. In his spare time, Martin loved to play golf and baseball, and took great pride in watching his sons play sports and his daughter compete in cheerleading competitions.
Martin D. White’s legacy lives on through the countless lives and careers he touched, the family he loved, and the company he built from the ground up. He will be deeply missed.
