About Us

Barry Portman has more than 25 years of oilfield experience in operations and management, anchored by hands-on field experience in all sizes and scopes, from a small startup to a multi-billion public company.  His operational background includes production, drilling, completions, plant & midstream, facilities, maintenance, and integrated service management.  Portman recently founded BCP Resources focusing on development of legacy assets in the Permian Basin, where his knowledge and skillset can be applied to generate top tier returns for investors in a new private fund, Lodestone Energy Partners LP.  To couple with private funds, Portman built a partnership focused on long term PDP leverage with Community National Bank, one of the largest E&P lenders in the Permian Basin.  BCP Resources’ first acquisition was a quick success, a small five well position where production increased 20x in the first few months.

Portman most recently served as Chief Operating Officer for Blackbuck Resources, a Private Equity backed portfolio company in midstream water management where he successfully converted a former service-oriented water business to become a top tier player in the Permian Basin E&P landscape, achieving industry leading performance in HSE, asset runtime, OPEX, and CAPEX spending.  Enterprise value growth of 300% and EBITDA growth of 800% were anchored by completion of the largest and most technologically advanced produced water injection well and disposal facility in the state of Texas with a maximum handling capacity of 140MBWPD, and a $70MM water infrastructure acquisition from a major E&P involving over 40 tank batteries, 100 MBWPD capacity, and nearly 70 miles of gathering lines.

Prior to Blackbuck, Portman served as Vice President, Production Operations, and Permian General Manager for Pioneer Natural Resources.  During his tenure at Pioneer, Portman served in several operational roles and his experience and leadership was a critical part of restructuring and refocusing on Midland Basin shale development.  His team executed over 500% growth in a 5-year timeframe, spanning over 700 employees in 4 office locations, production of 450 MBOEPD (over 70% oil) and 700 MBWPD of produced water from more than 6,500 wells and 1,900 tank batteries.  His massive field operation quickly emerged as a peer leader in minimizing operational downtime while maintaining the largest acreage position in the Midland Basin.  Prior to joining Pioneer, Portman was a business owner where he focused on using his unique experience to gain operational efficiencies and successfully completed large turnaround projects in oil and gas sector where he engaged both private equity and debt financing.  Before beginning his entrepreneurial effort, Portman worked operations for Marathon Oil Company and Kinder Morgan, where he focused on horizontal drilling development, various EOR methods including CO2 and high pressure gas injection, and production using a variety of lift methods, in particular expanding the usage and reliability of Gas Lift and ESP in the Permian Basin. 

Portman is active in the Permian community, serving as a Board Advisor for S.H.A.R.E, a nonprofit organization supporting families with special needs, and previously serving as a Board member of Bustin’ for Badges, raising funds for local police departments. As a long time Permian resident, Portman’s leadership style supports employees to be involved in their communities and actively volunteer for a number of charitable organizations.

Portman has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, where he was one of the founding students in the entrepreneurial internship program, which was recognized by the Indiana Business Journal in 1996. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and an Eagle Scout who received the Order of the Arrow Vigil Honor, the highest mark of distinction and recognition.