Bob's Biography

Robert L. Cavnar is a 30 plus year veteran of the oil and gas industry with deep experience in operations, start-ups, turn-arounds, and management of both public and private companies.  He is Chief Executive Officer of Luca Technologies of Golden, Colorado, which harnesses natural processes to produce natural gas sustainably.  Prior to Luca, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Milagro Exploration, a large, privately held oil and gas exploration firm based in Houston, Texas with operations along the Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi Gulf Coasts, and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.  Under Mr. Cavnar, Milagro acquired Petrohawk's Gulf Coast Division, consisting of more than 250 Bcfe of proved reserves.  Prior to Milagro, he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mission Resources from August 2002 until July 2005 when Mission was merged with Petrohawk Energy Corporation.  During his tenure at Mission, Mr. Cavnar led the recovery of the company's financial strength and prominence within the independent oil and gas industry with operations in South and East Texas, South Louisiana, offshore Gulf of Mexico, offshore California, and Southeast New Mexico.

Prior to Mission, Mr. Cavnar held various positions from June 1996 until August 2002 at El Paso Corporation including Vice President and Chief Financial officer and Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of El Paso Field Services, and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of El Paso Production Company.  During this time, he managed restructurings of business units at the company, as well as coordinating the transition and integration of several business units during mergers, including Sonat and Coastal Corporation.   He oversaw the expansion of the company's operations, onshore and offshore, managing over 300 field personnel.

Prior to El Paso, Mr. Cavnar was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer during the restructuring and recapitalization of Cornerstone Natural Gas, was a principal in the startup of Mountain Gas Resources, and a member of the Global Energy Group of the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York.  He began his career on drilling rigs and in pipeline operations, working 10 years in the field supervising well cementing and stimulation operations, managing multiple-rig drilling and workover programs, as well as managing construction of gas gathering and processing facilities.   He was certified by the USGS/MMS in well control and blowout prevention almost 30 years ago.

Mr. Cavnar holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Southern Methodist University, a Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Michigan University, and completed the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School.

He is currently on the Executive Board of Directors for KIPP Houston, a national charter school program, as well as a member of the Board of Directors for the Center for National Policy in Washington, D.C.   Mr. Cavnar is the Senior Chairman of the Board of the Houston Grand Opera and co-founder of Recipe for Success Foundation, dedicated to fighting childhood obesity.