Hydrogen, Upstream Oil & Gas, Technology Evaluation, Process Scale-up

Since 2020, James has been involved in the development of hydrogen and ammonia facilities at various stages of completion. For four years, he served as the VP of Business Development for Clean Hydrogen Works’ ammonia project in Louisiana, which is set to reach Final Investment Decision (FID) in 2025. Most recently, he was the Commercial Lead for a green hydrogen facility in Arizona with Fortescue Energy, which successfully achieved FID in Q4 2023.

Before transitioning to the hydrogen and ammonia sectors, James had a strong background in the upstream oil and gas industry. He co-founded Excalibur Resources LLC (2013-2030), a company supported by private equity that operated oil and gas properties across over 45,000 net acres in western Oklahoma. Excalibur was a key player in the horizontal drilling and development of these properties.

In 2011, James served as the Managing Director of PLS, Inc. in Houston, where he advised international companies on entering North American energy joint ventures. Notably, he facilitated a $600 million entry for Toyota Tsusho (Japan) into a Canadian gas joint venture with EnCana, covering over 450,000 acres in Alberta. Earlier in his career, James was the VP of Business Development at PetroQuest Energy (NYSE:PQ) from 2003 to 2010, where he established the Tulsa Division office. Under his leadership, this division became the company’s most productive, attracting a $265 million investment from a major U.S. power company as PetroQuest began monetizing these assets.

In addition to his current work, James also advises several natural gas operators in East Texas’s LNG Corridor and provides guidance to international clients on joint venture opportunities in hydrogen, ammonia, and carbon capture sequestration.

James holds an MBA from the University of Georgia and a BA from the University of Virginia. Contact James.