William J. O'Brien III
It is little wonder that William J. O'Brien III has been professionally engaged in the domestic oil and gas business for more than three decades. The industry is practically in his DNA.
As Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of O'Brien Energy Company, Bill advances the O'Brien Family history in exploration, operating and production that goes back two generations. It began with his grandfather, William Senior, more than 70 years ago, continued with his father, William Junior, and promises to endure for yet another generation.
Bill didn't simply inherit a position at the top based on family legacy. He learned the business and earned his stripes from the bottom up... having worked summers during college as a roustabout, a roughneck and derrickman, and a pumper, then as an Independent Professional Landman after graduation. Those experiences yielded knowledge and expertise in oil and gas that extend well beyond the board room.
After several years as an Independent Landman, then a Company Landman for Pennzoil Producing Company in Texas, Bill returned to Shreveport, Louisiana, to work with his father as Land Manager in the O'Brien family oil business, and continued in that capacity until his father's untimely death. He then served as President and Chief Operating Officer for O'Brien Operating Company until 1997. That year he took his professional involvement in oil and gas in a different direction when he and co-founder Dr. Pat Peavy established O'Brien Energy Company. Focusing on acquisition and development-driven programs, Bill engineered O'Brien Energy's growth into the thriving exploration and production company it is today.
Among his credits in the industry, Bill has held officer, executive committee, and director positions with the Independent Petroleum Association of America, the Ark-La-Tex Association of Petroleum Landmen, the American Association of Petroleum Landmen, and the National Association of Manufacturers. He also served on the Board of Directors of Business First Bank of Louisiana, and its Shreveport Loan Committee.
William J. O'Brien III holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of North Carolina, having attended as a John Motley Morehead Academic Scholarship recipient. He also undertook post-graduate studies in Petroleum Land Management at the University of Texas at Austin, and at Tulane University Law School in New Orleans.
