Contributors

Contributor	Bio
Rusty Braziel	Rusty Braziel is one of the most respected authorities in the field of energy information and markets, with an extensive background in energy marketing, trading and data services. Over the past 20 years he has worked in an executive level capacity with a major producer (Texaco), a major pipeline (Williams), a leading software company (Altra Energy), and a leading energy analytics and information company (BENTEK Energy). A consultant, author and speaker, Rusty has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Houston Chronicle, Thomson Reuters, Oil and Gas Journal, The Denver Post, Platts Gas Daily, Natural Gas Intelligence, and numerous other industry publications. Rusty is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and company events and is known for his market insights and dynamic style. He provides audiences compelling, customized and dynamic content that makes sense out of the onslaught of information about energy markets.
David Braziel	David joined RBN Energy in 2013 as Director of Finance and Fundamental Analysis. Prior to RBN, he was with Direct Energy and specialized in data analysis. Mr. Braziel began his career with BENTEK Energy before moving to Apache Corporation where he spent five years. Mr. Braziel received his BBA in Finance from Baylor University. He earned his MBA from the University of Houston with certificates in Energy Investment Analysis, Economics of Energy Value Chain, Energy Accounting and Finance, and Energy Risk Management David's musical preferences lean towards classic rock, with favorite bands including Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Boston.
Housley Carr	Housley Carr is a long-time energy journalist who, since 2013, has written hundreds of RBN blogs on various topics, including crude oil, natural gas, NGL and refined-products pipelines, crude-by-rail, crude oil exports, refining, refined-products exports, gas processing plants and fractionators, liquefaction and LNG export terminals, and international hydrocarbon markets. He worked at Platts from 1978 to 2016, specializing in energy-related subjects. Housley joined RBN full-time in 2016, continuing his work as an energy journalist. A born-and-bred New Yorker, Housley was a regular at area concerts (Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Three Dog Night, CCR, The Who, James Taylor and many others) through the 1970s and early ’80s. Today he loves all kinds of music (most of it pre-2000!) — everything from Ella Fitzgerald and Johnny Cash to Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews.
Sheetal Nasta	Sheetal Nasta is a fundamentals analyst, writer and consultant with over 15 years of experience observing and analyzing natural gas markets. As Managing Editor at RBN Energy, she manages the Daily Energy Post blog, in addition to overseeing content for several subscription reports and contributing to the Consulting team. Her previous roles include Manager of Energy Analysis for North American Natural Gas at Bentek Energy, where she developed and shepherded new market analysis and content for more than a half-dozen white papers and market reports, and Senior Editor at Platts Gas Daily, where she produced the daily Platts/ICE Forward Curves and data-driven stories explaining the impacts of infrastructure expansions, supply and demand fundamentals and other factors in the natural gas spot and forward markets.
Jason Lindquist	Jason Lindquist edits and contributes to RBN’s daily blog as Managing Editor and also edits several RBN reports. His previous roles covering the energy industry include Senior Digital Editor / Americas at S&P Global Platts, where he produced podcasts and videos weekly, and as a Senior Editor on Platts’ Central Editing Desk. Before that, he was an editor at the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana. He has a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and an MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati. Jason's favorite musical artists have always included the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp, but he has grown increasingly fond of Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson and Robert Earl Keen during his years in Texas.
John Auers	John was previously the team leader for TM&C’s market outlook publications and assignments and provided senior leadership to TM&C’s analyses of the worldwide refining industry and leads industry studies for the firm’s clients. He has specific expertise in the areas of refining economics and planning, LP modeling, downstream asset valuation, crude oil valuation and capital investment/strategic planning. John joined the firm in 1987 after a career with Exxon Corp., where he held various positions at its Baytown, Texas refinery. He holds a BS (1980) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Nebraska and an MBA (1984) from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. He is a licensed professional engineer in Texas and Nebraska and is also a member of TSPE and AIChE.
Martin King	Martin King (“Marty”) has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from the University of Calgary. His work experience spans being an Economist at the Bank of Canada in Ottawa from 1990 to 1993, and at the National Energy Board in Calgary from 1993 to 1997. From 1997 to 2018 he was with FirstEnergy Capital Corp. in Calgary, now GMP FirstEnergy, where he eventually served as Director of Institutional Research and was responsible for the analysis, modeling and price forecasts of the crude oil and natural gas markets. Marty enjoys running, yoga, and fitness, with a favorite band being The Beatles.
Rick Smead	Rick Smead is Managing Director, Advisory Services, for RBN Energy LLC. He specializes primarily in the natural gas sector, offering expert policy analysis and advice, litigation support, and strategic advice with respect to gas pipelines, potential supplies, and market initiatives. His background includes over nine years as a Director with Navigant Consulting, Inc., and over three decades in the natural gas industry. That experience included over 20 years as the chief regulatory officer for major interstate pipeline systems, with multiple experiences advising non-U.S. governments in the creation of a regulatory structure. His consulting practice has spanned the LNG industry, both for project developers and for a large national oil company, and the U.S. shale gas boom and its interaction with LNG, the pipeline industry, power generation, and other gas markets. At Navigant, he managed and co-authored the first major quantification of the U.S. shale potential in 2008, the pivotal North American Natural Gas Supply Assessment. Most recently, he has been deeply involved in the opportunities for the use of the nation’s natural gas abundance, including power generation, LNG exports, and gas-to-liquids technology. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland and a law degree from George Washington University. Outside of the office, Rick is an avid sports enthusiast, particularly enjoying skiing and biking. He also finds relaxation in historic reading and political analysis, diving deep into the intricacies of the past and present. A true music lover, Rick's favorite band is The Rolling Stones, whose timeless music resonates with his eclectic taste.
Robert Auers	Robert is RBN – RFA’s primary refinery modeler and refined fuels market analyst. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2013 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. Robert is an active CFA Charterholder. Robert has nine years of total industry experience split between Western Refining’s El Paso Refinery (now owned by Marathon) and Turner, Mason & Co. He is experienced in petroleum refining and renewable diesel economics, process engineering, process design, and HazOp review. Robert's hobbies include skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and spending time with his children. His favorite band is Cross Canadian Ragweed, although he also enjoys Led Zeppelin in the rock genre.
Lindsay Schneider	Lindsay Schneider is RBN's Principal Consultant and Analyst with more than 10 years’ experience in North American gas, LNG and power markets. She was previously a Sr. Manager at Wood Mackenzie covering gas markets with a focus on natural gas pipelines and regional pricing/market dynamics. Prior to Wood Mackenzie, Lindsay was a fuels analyst for Exelon Generation. She has a BS in mathematics and a BA in economics from the Pennsylvania State University.
Nick Cacchione	Mr. Cacchione is the founder of Oil & Gas Financial Analytics, LLC. He specializes in the benchmarking and valuation of upstream oil and gas operations. His benchmarking expertise primarily relates to the areas of upstream capital spending, reserve replacement and finding and development costs, and upstream profitability. Nick has over 25 years’ experience in the analysis of the oil and gas company and industry trends including nearly 20 years with John S. Herold Inc. and IHS, Inc. Nick was the primary author of the Global Upstream Performance Review, an industry leading publication. He also has expertise in the analysis of Master Limited Partnerships. Nick has a BBA in accounting and a MBA in finance both from Iona College and has also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Mr. Cacchione can be reached by email at nick@oilandgasfinancialanalytics.com
Tom Biracree	Tom Biracree is currently a director at Oil and Gas Financial Analytics, LLC. He was Senior Principle Editor at John S. Herold, Inc., then IHS Inc., for fifteen years. He led the senior editorial team for IHS Energy Insight research and was responsible for structuring and content editing valuation and transaction research. Tom wrote the Herold Oil Headliner, a daily newsletter aimed at senior industry and financial executives. He was co-author of the Global Upstream M&A Review and contributed to the Global Upstream Performance Review. He is also the author of more than 100 published books. He can be reached at tom@oilandgasfinancialanalytics.com.
Richard Pratt	Dr. Richard Pratt has been a participant across every element of the LNG chain during his 30 plus years in the industry. He cut his teeth working as a secondee from Total at ADGAS for 8 years in commercial, planning and management roles. Following a period in consulting with Poten he joined Mirant Corporation in Atlanta, developing LNG as a business stream for the company and imported Nigerian LNG cargoes via Lake Charles. He then joined Repsol and was the originator and architect of the Canaport LNG terminal in New Brunswick. Following a stint at Morgan Stanley, setting up the firm’s LNG trading desk, he moved to Fearnley LNG where much of his work has been advisory in the LNG shipping sphere. Since leaving Fearnleys in 2018 he has set up Precision LNG Consulting, LLC based in Houston. A chemist by training, he actually knows what mercaptans are, and how they smell.
Noel Copeland	Mr. Copeland has over 15 years of experience in the energy space, he joined the RBN team in 2014 to lead RBN’s geospatial initiative and leverage the power of "where" to increase the value of RBN Energy's internal analytic processes and customer facing visuals. Before joining RBN, Mr. Copeland was Manager, GIS Energy Solutions for Platts, now S&P Global. Prior to Platts, Mr. Copeland built and managed the GIS and mapping team at Bentek Energy. Mr. Copeland, a diehard Denver Broncos fan, enjoys cooking, beach vacations, riding bikes and still really loves maps. His favorite band is Phish.
Todd Root	Mr. Root has over three decades of experience in the petrochemical and energy industry. He has a broad professional background, with extensive experience managing NGL feedstock supply for major petrochemical companies. Before joining RBN Energy, Mr. Root spent nine years with Westlake Chemical as Director of Feedstocks. In this role he was responsible for supply of natural gas and natural gas liquids as well as power, brine, industrial gases and risk management activities. Prior to that, Mr. Root spent 20 years with ARCO/Lyondell Chemical (now LyondellBasell) in a variety of leadership roles, including significant experience as Manager of NGL Supply and Optimization & Operations Planning. He began his career at Vista Chemical (now Sasol) as a Process Engineer. Mr. Root holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering Michigan State University, an MBA from the University of Houston and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Taylor Noland	Taylor Noland is the Founder and President of Engage Energy Marketing Consulting, LLC, an independent consulting firm. She offers nearly two decades of success in the oil and gas industry, with a strong concentration in oil and NGL marketing. Prior to starting Engage, Taylor was the Oil Marketing Manager at Devon Energy. Over her career at Devon, she held various roles, gaining experience in planning, analytics, contract administration, scheduling, trading, negotiating and leadership in upstream, midstream and downstream marketing.
Brett Hunter	Brett Hunter is the Founder and President of Energy Hunter LLC, an independent consulting firm. He has over 20 years of energy experience, predominately focused in the midstream sector where he was a leader in commercial development focused on project development, contract negotiation and commercial operations. Brett has a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tulsa and a Master’s of Business Administration from Oklahoma State University.
Alex Hardman	Alex Hardman is a Consultant with Baker & O’Brien, Inc. (www.bakerobrien.com), an oil and gas consultancy specializing in market advisory and support of complex commercial disputes. He has 15 years of experience in oil and gas production, enhanced oil recovery (CO2 and flue gas floods), energy trading, risk management, and analytics. Alex holds B.S in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Florida and an M.B.A. from Tulane University. He can be reached by email at alex.hardman@bakerobrien.com
George Hoekstra	George Hoekstra, the president of Hoekstra Trading LLC, retired from BP after a 35-year career with BP and Amoco in refinery process research and technology management. The consulting company he runs today has sponsored multi-client research programs on a number of oil refining and marketing topics, including pilot plant testing, laboratory testing, field testing, and market research in hydroprocessing. Hoekstra Trading also sponsors the industry's only multi-client independent catalyst testing program for refining catalysts. George has served on many industry panels and councils as an expert in hydroprocessing and refining catalysts.
Albert Marc Passy	Albert Marc Passy has experience across the energy value chain - from the wellhead to the market. For the past 20 years, he has used his analytical skills to deliver business answers to the financial questions necessary to maximize profit in the commodity space. Prior to that, he worked in software development, human space flight operations, and both civilian and navy nuclear power operations. His working career began in the US Navy, where he was an officer on the nuclear submarine, USS Oklahoma City. Albert has an MBA in Finance from the University of Houston, with a certificate in Energy Risk Management, a Master's in Software Engineering from the University of Houston, Clear Lake, and a Bachelor's in Aeronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy. Marc enjoys a range of hobbies in his free time, including reading, woodworking, and entertaining. He's also a fan of the band Cheap Trick, appreciating their music in his leisure moments.