Southern Ute Indian Tribe Seal

Management Philosophy

Aka Energy Group, LLC has an experienced management team dedicated to providing the very best in midstream services to its customers. Our philosophy is to provide dependable, high quality, high value service every day to every customer. We believe in developing long term relationships with our customers as partners, based on the quality of our services and the integrity with which we provide those services. We believe our customers’ satisfaction and success is the cornerstone of Aka’s success and we work to be our customers’ mid-stream provider of choice.

Aka’s management team is dedicated to conducting all operations in an uncompromisingly safe and environmentally conscientious manner. Aka employs Best Management Practices as well as stringently conforming to all legal and regulatory requirements. Every employee is trained to understand safety and environmental protection as an essential part of their job.

Oversight and leadership at the corporate level are provided by the company President, Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Engineering and Operations, Vice President of Business Development, Environmental Health and Safety Manager, and Senior Process Engineer. Additional leadership for Midcontinent Operations is provided by an affiliate level President in the Tulsa office.

Corporate level business development activities are managed from the Durango office, while local development activities are managed at the appropriate operations level.

Management Team

Barbara G. Wickman - President and Chief Operating Officer
Responsible for operations, strategic planning and the profit performance of Aka Energy. Prior to joining Aka, Mrs. Wickman served for ten years as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s exploration and production company, Red Willow Production Company. For a time she worked on the regulatory side of the natural gas business in the Tribe’s Energy Department. Mrs. Wickman began her career at Mobil Oil Corporation, where she served in a progression of geological and business planning positions. Mrs. Wickman has an M.B.A. from the University of Denver, an M.S. in Geoscience from Texas A&M University, and a B.A. in Geology from Princeton University.

Timothy L. Garnett - Chief Financial Officer
Responsible for planning and directing budget, finance, and accounting functions for Aka Energy Group, LLC and affiliates. Mr. Garnett began his career in the exploration and production sector and was most recently employed by a regulated gas utility in their business development department. His career spans over 29 years with progressive job responsibilities in accounting, finance, acquisitions and divestitures, with a portion of time spent in the financial services industry as a principal in his own company. Mr. Garnett has experience in many aspects of the natural gas industry including production, transportation, marketing, and distribution. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting from the University of Northern Colorado.

Raymond C. Kane, Jr. - Vice President of Business Development
Responsible for leading business development activities for Aka Energy and supervising commercial activities at Aka Energy’s facilities in the DJ Basin. During his 30 year career in the natural gas midstream industry, Mr. Kane has held positions in engineering, operations, gas supply, management and business development with Conoco, Penn Central Energy Group, and American Central Gas Companies, among others, and has been a principal in several midstream start-up companies, including Western States Gas and Mega Natural Gas. Before joining Aka Energy, he was a consultant for a number of companies, providing assistance and expertise in project and business development activities. Mr. Kane earned a B.S. in Engineering and an M.B.A., both from Texas A&M University.

Dennis L. Casto, P.E. - Vice President of Engineering and Operations
Responsible for the management and coordination of engineering, construction and field operations for Aka Energy. Mr. Casto has over 30 years of experience in midstream operations and management. Prior to joining Aka Energy in 2006, he was the Manager of Process Engineering for 11 years with KN Energy (Kinder-Morgan) and Oneok Field Services. Before that, he spent 10 years in operations and engineering management in the chemical plant, liquid pipeline and underground storage industry with Occidental Petroleum (Oxychem) and 9 years in natural gas midstream and operations positions with Warren Petroleum (Gulf Oil), Delhi Gas Pipeline, and Damson Gas Processing. Mr. Casto earned his B.S., Chemical & Petroleum Refining Engineering, from the Colorado School of Mines.

Fran King Brown - Environmental, Health and Safety Manager
Responsible for the management and coordination of all environmental, health and safety aspects of Aka Energy’s facilities and projects. The position also acts as liaison between Aka, its partners, and its contractors to ensure that Aka’s high standards for environmental, health and safety are maintained at all phases of Aka’s business and projects. Mrs. Brown has been active as an EHS professional since 1993. She has a B.S., Geology and Chemistry from Fort Lewis College, Durango.

Dean S. (“Chip”) Burkett, P.E. - Senior Process Engineer
Responsible for providing and supervising advanced engineering in the design, construction, and technical support of natural gas processing facilities and control systems including Process Safety Management (PSM) compliance and project management. Mr. Burkett has 30 years of experience in the natural gas industry performing process engineering, controls system design and project management. He has worked for domestic and international contract engineering firms as well as for operating companies. Mr. Burkett has worked for Aka Energy Group since 2002. Mr. Burkett has a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Montana State University.

Scott D. Emerson - Manager of Commercial Services & Business Development
Responsible for all commercial activities related to the Gilcrest Plant, Colorado, as well as project development in the Rocky Mountain region. Mr. Emerson brings over 30 years experience in the energy industry, with 20 years focused on the commercial aspects of gathering, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas. Prior to joining Aka Energy, Mr. Emerson led the business development and transportation efforts of SourceGas LLC (formerly Kinder Morgan – Retail) and KN Gas Gathering including the general management of a substantial gas gathering system located in the Wattenberg field of Colorado. Preceding KN, Mr. Emerson held various administrative, marketing, and commercial midstream roles at Amoco Production Company (BP). Mr. Emerson has a B.S. in Business Administration from Colorado State University.

Jon Farner - Area Manager for Aka Energy East
Responsible for the construction and operations of the Marcellus Shale projects. Mr. Farner brings over 20 years of experience in the gas industry and began his career in operations with Enron Gas Corporation. Responsibilities included supervision of operations at the Bushton Complex in the Helium Extraction plant, Ethane cryogenic extraction plant, 55,000 bpd frac plant, Isomerization reactor conversion plant, and a 50,000 bpd integrated extraction plant. Prior to joining AKA Energy, he was the Superintendent of Plant Operations at the Bushton Complex operated by Oneok Field Services.

Michael L. Hicks - President - Frontier Field Services and Lumen Midstream Partnership
Responsible for all aspects of the management of facilities located in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas for related office functions in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mr. Hicks joined Aka in 2004 when Frontier was acquired by Aka Energy Group, LLC and was named President of both Frontier and Lumen operations in 2005. His prior experience included 16 years in a progression of operations and management positions with Frontier, CMS Field Services, Dynegy Midstream Services, and Warren Petroleum. Mr. Hicks has a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tulsa.

Rick Fizer - Senior Vice-President of Operations - Lumen Midstream Partnership
Responsible for the efficient operations and general management of assets primarily in Kansas and Oklahoma that are held through Lumen Midstream Partnership, LLC. Mr. Fizer has over 26 years experience in the natural gas industry including positions in engineering, operations, marketing, transportation, and gas supply. Prior to joining Aka through its acquisition of Lumen Energy Corporation, Mr. Fizer was a Senior Vice President at Lumen. He was also part of the management team at Nimrod Natural Gas Corporation, Lumen’s predecessor. Mr. Fizer earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Tulsa in 1983.

Bryant C. Frihart - Vice President of Commercial Services - Frontier Field Services and Lumen Midstream Partnership
Responsible for coordinating commercial endeavors in Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Mr. Frihart joined Aka Energy in 2004 via the acquisition of Frontier by Aka Energy and was named Vice President in 2008. Mr. Frihart has over 25 years of experience in energy trading, energy marketing, NGL marketing, risk management, gas supply, and business development. Prior to joining Aka Energy, Mr. Frihart worked in commercial and trading roles at UBS, Enron, PG&E, Vesta Energy, and Occidental Petroleum. Mr. Frihart holds a B.B.A. in Petroleum Land Management from the University of Oklahoma and has completed the Strategic Leadership Business Course at the University of Chicago.