Oil and Gas industry legend David L. Bole died May 24 at age 82.

David L. Bole, 1938-2020
David L. Bole, 1938-2020

Throughout his 50-year career in the oil and gas industry, Bole was best known as a tireless networker and business builder. He passed away peacefully with family by his side, according to an obituary in the Houston Chronicle.

Bole is an Oklahoma native born and raised in Bartlesville, where his chemical engineer father arrived in the 1920s’ oil boom to join Cities Service Oil Co. Young Bole started in the oil patch at age 17 working on cable tool rigs in the summer.

After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1961 with a BBA in Petroleum Land Management, he joined Humble Oil, an Exxon Mobil predecessor company, in Oklahoma City as a field landman. He took a leave of absence to serve in the U.S. Army. Following his return to Humble, he worked in Ardmore, Oklahoma City, New Orleans and Houston.

He left Humble in 1968 to join Merrill Lynch, where he became national product manager for oil and gas investments in New York. Returning to Oklahoma City, he was co-founder and president of Edwards & Leach Oil Co., then CFO for Alexander Energy. Later, he went to Pittsburgh to work for Equitable Resources Energy Co. as vice president of corporate development.


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Back in Houston by 1996, he became a managing director of A&D advisory firm Randall & Dewey, now a part of Jefferies & Co. In 2007, Bole joined private-equity firm Quantum Energy Partners in Houston, where he served as managing director until his retirement. Prior to joining Quantum, he was president of SouthView Energy, a Quantum and Jefferies portfolio company.

Bole was also active in many industry associations including the American Association of Professional Landmen, Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association and Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA). He received the IPAA Leadership Award in 2004.

At OU, Bole was on the Sarkeys Energy Center board of directors and served on the advisory board for the Energy Management Program in the Price College of Business. In 2011, he received the Price College Distinguished Alumni Award.