The word Contango isn’t found in any dictionary, yet it is used every day by natural gas and oil traders and NYMEX floor brokers.
Contango describes a market condition of expected rising prices. Expected declining prices are referred to as backwardated. Because Kenneth Peak, founder, chairman and CEO, takes prides in his company’s forward thinking, he thought Contango Oil & Gas Co. sounded better than Backwardated Oil & Gas Co.
Peak founded Contango, an independent natural gas and oil company, at the age of 54 using his life savings. He has built the business by outsourcing as much as possible and running the company with only a handful of employees. The continuing decline in computing power costs are revolutionizing business, lowering barriers to entry, leveling the competitive playing field between big and small companies and allowing talented people to freelance as never before.
Consolidation continues to dominate the natural gas and oil exploration industry, with companies rationalizing their assets, and downsizing their staffs. “Do more with less” is the industry’s credo, creating opportunity for Contango by increasing the pool of talented people, as well as making available prospects and producing assets that no longer fit the strategy of larger companies.
Peak believes what sets Contango apart from other companies is not what it does, but how it does it. The company has organized itself and set goals that are simple and clear: to build a profitable, independent natural gas and oil company.
Peak judges Contango like a competition, and the company is shooting for 10s for originality in its daily work. When Contango does a routine job that everybody in the business does, its goal is to do it better than anyone else. Peak strives for exceptional execution of any ordinary task, and if the business can score mostly 10s, it will foster a fun, exciting, and profitable company.
HOW TO REACH: Contango Oil & Gas Co., (713) 960-1901 or www.contango.com
