Robert Norton
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Robert Norton had a good job at DCP Midstream and a clear, structured path to career advancement. It wasn’t for him. “I took a chance to step out and join the team at Cureton Midstream, recognizing I was more at home in a nimble, private equity company,” he says. “There, I was challenged daily to think outside the box about deal structure and financing mechanics. I was hooked.” Norton’s focus is on the long term. “Taking a short-term mentality leads to one party ‘winning’ with the other ‘losing.’ My whole career, I have approached my work with the long view in mind, knowing that leverage tends to change over time.”
What qualities do you think are necessary to be a good leader in the oil and gas industry?
A good leader demonstrates trust, authenticity, accountability and taking responsibility. Trust and authenticity are essential for effective customer service—whether they’re external or internal customers—and successful negotiations. I’ve found that responsible leaders gain the full trust of their teams by taking ownership when things go wrong. Without these, leaders can struggle to foster transparent relationships with all stakeholders, which are critical for managing risks that are an inherent part of our industry.
Which career milestone did you reach sooner than you had planned, and what helped you reach it earlier than expected?
A huge milestone is my first entrepreneurial attempt. In 2020, I left a perfectly good job to go chase the dream of starting my own company. There was a large capital flight from the space and sponsors were not floating G&A on unproven people or teams. I worked for 11 months unpaid while finding support from the team at Five Point Energy to pursue a strategy in the Powder River Basin and founded Rio Blanco Energy—a water management company that partnered with a major operator in the basin to commercialize their water system. Despite market conditions changing and other more significant opportunities arising, Five Point remained committed to me, which opened the door to joining the Deep Blue team. With the support of friends, family, and a few very close loved ones, I achieved the long-term goal of starting a new company, although the ultimate result looked different than I thought it would look from the outset.
What do you think young industry members as a group have to offer that is unique to them?
Young professionals bring a unique, collaborative perspective to the oil and gas industry. The shortened pricing cycles and increased volatility have led to significant headcount reductions and people forced out of the industry or to move companies, and those remaining have had to rely on each other more than ever. This environment has furthered greater inter-company collaboration, compared to the more secretive approaches of the past. Whether it be something such as proprietary completions design in an exploratory area or working together to be better allocators of infrastructure capital by sharing assets, young people in the industry are leaning on each other and helping to drive change and create value faster than ever before.
Take a look at the rest of the Forty Under 40 2024 winners.
