J. Michael Gatlin
Senior President – Operations & Engineering
J. Michael Gatlin is Vice President of Operations of Milagro Exploration. Prior to Milagro, he was Director of Drilling for Mission Resources from November 2004 until July 2005 when Mission was merged with Petrohawk Energy Corporation. While with Mission, Mr. Gatlin directed the drilling portion of a $74 million capital exploration and production program, which included the successful drilling and completion of 16 operated wells from South Texas to Southwestern Louisiana with depths ranging from 10,500 feet to approximately 17,000 feet.
Prior to joining Mission, Mr. Gatlin was Drilling Manager from May 2001 to November 2004 at El Paso Corporation where his responsibilities included the oversight of the drilling, completion and remediation operations on wells in South Texas to a depth of over 21,200 feet. Previous to the merger of Coastal Corporation into El Paso, Mr. Gatlin, as a lead drilling engineer for Coastal from May 1997 to May 2001, designed and managed the successful drilling of over 200 wells in South Texas that presented technical and operational challenges such as high pressure, high temperature, severe depletion and complex geology. Additionally, Mr. Gatlin has held Drilling, Production and Engineering managerial positions in the United States, Australia and South America during his 36 years in the oil and gas industry.
Mr. Gatlin holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from Mississippi State University and is a registered Professional Engineer with the State of Texas. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Association of Drilling Engineers.
