Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association Wildcatters Hall of Honor inductee Bob Sullivan, right, receives a plaque from fellow Hall of Honor member and former OIPA Chairman Mike Cantrell.
Former Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association (OIPA) Chairman Robert J. Sullivan Jr. was inducted into the association’s Wildcatters Hall of Honor during the OIPA Fall Conference.
“To be among the group of people who’ve received this recognition before is very humbling,” said Sullivan, owner of Tulsa independent oil and gas exploration and production company Sullivan and Company LLC. “I’ve had the privilege of knowing every one of them, and every one of them taught me something. To be on a list of my mentors is deeply gratifying.”
The Wildcatters Hall of Honor distinction is presented to members of the OIPA Wildcatter Club who have distinguished themselves in supporting independent producer issues and political candidates through the association’s political action efforts
“Bob’s been a passionate, long-time booster for this industry and this association,” said OIPA President Mike Terry. “I can’t thing of anyone more deserving of this honor.”
Sullivan served as OIPA chairman from 2011 to 2013. His tenure saw the OIPA move into its new headquarters at Fourth and Lincoln in Oklahoma City and surpass 2,500 members for the first time in association history. He was also the driving force behind OIPA’s Future Leaders, a membership level open to those 35 and younger, meant to develop the next generation of leaders in the oil and natural gas industry.
A former state secretary of energy and Republican gubernatorial candidate, Sullivan has been an OIPA member since 1978 and serves on the association’s board of directors. He is also a member of the National Stripper Well Association board of directors and serves as a board member for the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. Sullivan has also served on the board of directors of Tulsa’s Catholic Charities and St. John Medical Center and was the president of the University of Notre Dame Alumni Association.
Founded in 1955, the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association was created to give the state’s independent oil and natural gas producers a unified voice. Today, the OIPA is made up of more than 2,800 members in the crude oil and natural gas exploration and production industry and affiliated businesses. It is the state’s largest oil and gas advocacy group and one of the largest statewide petroleum groups in the nation.
