All-of-the-Above: Rethinking Energy “Transition” with Dick Stoneburner

What if the “shale revolution” wasn’t just a headline, but a handful of people making terrifying, high-conviction bets in real time—with no guarantee it would work?

That’s the story I got to dig into with geologist and executive Dick Stoneburner, and honestly, it left me thinking about risk, scale, and what it really means to help build an energy system the world now takes for granted.

Dick grew up in Houston with a geologist dad who didn’t want him to go into geology—which makes his eventual pivot into the field even better. After starting out in economics and thinking law school was the plan, he looked back at his college classes and realized the one course that lit him up was geology… right as the 1973 Arab oil embargo reshaped the energy landscape. Timing, as they say, is everything.

From there, his career tracks almost perfectly alongside the modern story of North American oil and gas: the brutal bust of the mid-80s, going independent when there were “no jobs,” learning to wear every hat in the business, and eventually helping lead Petrohawk through the heyday of shale—turning relatively modest private equity commitments into multi-billion-dollar exits.

What I loved about this conversation is that it’s not just a highlight reel. Dick is honest about the knife fights over Haynesville acreage, the role of private equity (both as fuel and as a finite resource), and why he thinks “energy transition” is the wrong frame—we’re living through an energy evolution, and hydrocarbons, nuclear, wind, solar, and emerging tech are all part of the same story.

Key Themes & Takeaways
From “crummy industry” to shale revolution
The power of going independent
Turning $5M into hundreds of millions, then billions
Entrepreneurial shale vs. the majors
Consolidation and the shrinking middle
All-of-the-above “transition”
Methane, CCS, and doing the hard work

Favorite Quotes
“We were running 4,500 rigs and still couldn’t grow production. We just weren’t very good at it yet.”
“Getting laid off and going independent was the hardest period of my career—and the reason I ended up with such a diverse skill set.”
“We turned a $5 million private equity commitment into $350 million in about three years. It wasn’t magic. It was leverage, discipline, and timing.”
“Hydrocarbons, nuclear, wind, solar—they all have a role. Not all of them fit all purposes in all places.”
“Hope is not a strategy. If the economics don’t work, the energy project won’t either, no matter how good it looks on paper.”

Chapter Markers
00:00 – From Econ Major to Geologist
02:55 – The 80s Crash & Going Independent
04:38 – Falling in Love with Shale
10:54 – Private Equity, Leverage & the Petrohawk Story
18:09 – Shale and U.S. Energy Independence
35:39 – Consolidation & the Shrinking Middle Tier
36:01 – Evolution, Not Transition

Your Turn
This week’s reflection:

Where in your work are you being called to think longer-term—beyond headlines and hype—and make the kind of high-conviction bets that could reshape your corner of the energy system?

Grab a notebook, jot down one risk you’ve been circling, and ask: If I really believed in the evolution of this industry, how would I move differently over the next 12 months?

Links & Mentions:

Lake Superior Consulting – https://www.lsconsulting.com/

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