Meet The Team

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Thomas Favrot is an established energy professional with over 10 years of industry experience in upstream operations and development, both domestic and international. He is a founding partner of Piñon Resources, serving as the Chief Executive Officer.

Prior to founding Piñon Resources, Mr. Favrot held roles of increasing responsibility at Occidental Petroleum with assignments across Permian Basin, South Texas, and Iraq. Mr. Favrot has worked and understands all aspects of oil and gas production and operations from the perforations to the sales meter, and brings this technical expertise to the forefront of Piñon’s corporate decision- making process. 

Mr. Favrot received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a licensed Petroleum Engineer in the State of Texas and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. 

Doug Schmidt is a founding partner of Piñon Resources, serving as Vice-President of Land and Business Development. He brings 13 years of experience in energy, with a focus in the acquisition and divestiture of producing oil and gas properties.

Prior to joining Piñon, Doug worked in roles of increasing responsibility in land and business development at Concho Resources Inc. He participated in the evaluation, execution, and integration of Concho’s acquisitions and divestitures through much of Concho’s growth.

Doug is a native Midlander. He is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Business Administration from the McCombs School of Business. He is an active member of the Permian Basin Landmen’s Association, and a former trustee of the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum. Doug currently serves on the ADAM-Permian Advisory Committee and on the board of Young Professionals in Energy, where he was formerly chapter director.

Gregory Palko is a seasoned petroleum geologist with over 37 years of industry experience exploring for and developing hydrocarbon accumulations onshore in the Lower 48 United States and Alaska.  He is a partner of Piñon Resources serving as the Vice President of Exploration.

Before joining Piñon Resources, Mr. Palko was with EOG Resources leading the exploration effort of the Midland Division and developing a keen understanding of resource play assessment and prosecution.  Prior to his 11 years with EOG, Mr. Palko worked in the independent sector for almost 6 years and spent 20 years before that with ARCO Permian, ARCO Alaska, Inc., ARCO Exploration and ARCO Oil and Gas Company.  Mr. Palko has extensive experience in the Permian Basin, the Mid-Continent and Alaska.  

Mr. Palko received a Bachelor of Science in Geology from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science in Geology also from Texas A&M University.  He is a long- time member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the West Texas Geological Society.

Ahmed Saleh has 14 years of experience in the oil and gas industry with roles spanning across investment banking and engineering. He is a founding partner of Piñon Resources, serving as Vice President of Engineering and Finance. 

Prior to joining Piñon Resources, Mr. Saleh was a Vice President of Investment Banking at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. and a Director of Investment Banking at PJ Solomon. Mr. Saleh was responsible for leading acquisition and divestiture mandates across the Lower 48, including several transactions in the Permian Basin. Prior to joining Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., Mr. Saleh worked in various technical and commercial roles at Shell E&P and Schlumberger, including Exploration & New Ventures supporting Lower 48 acquisition evaluations, and completions equipment design and development. 

Mr. Saleh received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Engineering from Rice University, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Houston Producers’ Forum, and ADAM.