About Cinco

Mr. Nichols has led Cinco Energy Management Group as Founder and President since 1990, and has been a growing force in the Energy Industry for the last 36 years. His powerful combination of knowledge, commitment to excellence, and leadership ability has helped shape Cinco into the respected industry leader that it is today.

Mr. Nichols was the chairman of the Technical Committee for the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL), from 2010-2012 and received the AAPL Outstanding Committee Member Award in 2013. He was also the recipient of the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Best Landman Award in 2012 and named among the “Who’s Who in Energy” list compiled by the Houston Business Journal in 2013.

Mr. Nichols is a member of the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL), Michael Late Benedum Chapter of AAPL, Houston Association of Professional Landmen, Denver Association of Professional Landmen, Energy Landman’s Breakfast Group, Houston Energy Finance Group, Houston Producers’ Forum, and the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators. He earned a BA from the University of Texas and is a Certified Professional Landman.

Ms. Nichols has been with Cinco Energy Management Group since 2010. She has since managed title, due diligence and land management projects in several states. She held the position of Director of Commercial Affairs from 2013 – 2018, directing the company’s international business development efforts and leading several strategic initiatives company-wide. From 2014 – 2017, Ms. Nichols served as the Acting Land Manager of Cinco’s Denver office, overseeing the company’s regional growth throughout the Greater Rockies area.

Prior to joining Cinco, she worked as a Policy Analyst for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Arlington, Virginia. She left the DHS after being awarded a research fellowship by the Fulbright Program from US Department of State. As a Fulbright Scholar, Ms. Nichols lived in Egypt and Bahrain while leading a research initiative on culture and economy in conjunction with the University of Bahrain. Ms. Nichols holds a BA from Georgetown University and an MBA from Rice University, where she focused on finance and entrepreneurship.

Mike Hinze is President and owner of KBS Energy LLC an Oil and Gas Land Management and Business Development consulting firm located in Kingwood, Texas. Mike has over 35 years of diversified experience in technical and managerial positions within the Exploration, Production and Business Development segments of the Energy Industry.

He is a native of the San Antonio area and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin where he graduated with degrees in Geology and Business/Petroleum Land Management.

Upon graduating from the University of Texas Mike held various positions with Tenneco Oil Company and Tenneco Gas for 22 years working in their Houston, Midland and San Antonio offices. Subsequently, Mike held executive positions with several smaller independent oil and gas firms including Yuma Exploration in 2001 as Vice President of Land, Vice President Land for NFR Energy LLC now known as Sabine Oil & Gas in 2007 and Vice President of Land and Business Development for Maverick Oil & Gas in 2014.

Mike is a member and past president of both the Houston Association of Professional Landmen and the San Antonio Association of Professional Landmen and the recipient of the 2005 Landman of the Year Award from the Houston Association of Professional Landmen and the Texas Monthly/TIPRO Top 15 Landman Award in 2012. He is also a member and has served on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for the American Association of Professional Landmen as Secretary, Director and Committee Chairman. Mike and his wife Andi have three grown children Sean, Brent and Kristin and three grandchildren. They are members of Christ the King Lutheran Church and reside in Kingwood, Texas.

Julie Jenkins has over 35 years’ experience as a Land and Regulatory executive and entrepreneur. Julie has worked for several Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Companies from small, privately owned firms to multinational Supermajors. Additionally, for over 8 years, she co-owned a successful Construction Litigation Consulting Firm. Julie’s career reflects a demonstrated track record of successfully leading large Land and Regulatory organizations. She has a wealth of experience drafting and negotiating a wide variety of oil and gas agreements including leases, joint operating agreements, farmouts and PSA’s. She has testified before Oil and Gas Regulatory bodies in multiple states as a subject matter expert.

Most recently, Julie served as Vice President of Land and Regulatory at HighPoint Resources (HPR), a publicly-traded Oil and Gas Company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. In this role she led multiple disciplines including the Business Development, Operations and Surface Land, Lease Records, Division Order and Permitting/Regulatory/Compliance functions.

Julie started her career at Amoco Production Company (which subsequently merged with British Petroleum “BP”), where she spent over 12 years progressing from an intern to a Senior Land Negotiator. Her career advanced with roles of increasing responsibility as a Consultant for Kerr-McGee and as Land Manager for Aviva, Inc., a privately owned royalty and mineral acquisition company. Prior to joining HPR, she was a Land Manager for Noble Energy for 9 years leading, at times, teams of over 50 people.

Julie holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Land Management from Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge and is a Certified Professional Landman (CPL). Julie has served on the American Association of Professional Landmen’s (AAPL) Board of Directors, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Western Colorado University’s Energy Management Program. She is currently a member of AAPL and the Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen (DAPL). She has served on several committees for AAPL and as Vice President and Treasurer for the West Houston Association of Petroleum Landmen (WHAPL).

Kelley Burch has enjoyed a successful career in Exploration & Production, Acquisitions & Divestitures, and every facet of Land and Business Development spanning over 35 years in the upstream space of our great oil and gas industry. Mr. Burch is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Price College of Business, with a degree in Petroleum Land Management, and is a Certified Professional Landman. He had the privilege to begin his career in energy with Tenneco Oil Company gaining valuable experience in several onshore basins and the offshore Gulf of Mexico, including representing Tenneco on the Florida Petroleum Council.

Mr. Burch has held several leadership positions in Land and Business Development for both private and public E&P companies, including three start-up companies. Having spent most of his career with Newfield Exploration Company, Mr. Burch was a member of the team charged with bringing Newfield onshore into several basins as manager of new ventures and business development, managing a number of successful acquisitions and organic growth into basins including Appalachia, Williston and Eagle Ford. Subsequent to Newfield, Mr. Burch was a member of the leadership teams for three growth oriented upstream start-up companies, including managing director of land and business development at Vitruvian 1 Exploration focused in the Permian and Oklahoma Miss Lime, successfully monetized in 2012. Mr. Burch was VP – Land & Business Development at NRP Oil and Gas LP focused in the Williston and Appalachia Basins, successfully monetized in 2017, and VP – Land & Business Development for Catena Resources, presently focused in the Permian Basin.

Mr. Burch has gained invaluable experience throughout his career in Land, Land Administration, asset management, leadership and advisory positions, recruiting and mentoring, and business development building a huge industry network, with the ability to open many doors in E&P, A&D and M&A, all focused towards achieving company success.