Our Team Members

David M. Nicklas, Chief Executive Officer

As a founder, Mr. Nicklas served as President of Laurel Mountain Energy since its inception in 2014 and was promoted to CEO in 2019.  Under his leadership, LME has acquired approximately 29,000 acres in the stacked liquids-rich trend north of Pittsburgh; drilled 21 Marcellus shale wells; and owns a 40% interest in Stonehenge Laurel Gathering (a midstream system built for the purpose of gathering LME production). Prior to forming Laurel Mountain Energy, Mr. Nicklas joined Vista Resources, Inc. in 2003 as Manager of Marketing & Sales responsible for the assisting in securing the funding through private placement and joint venture agreements totaling over $62.7 million from the second half of 2003 through the end of 2005.  Mr. Nicklas also served as Vice President managing the company’s operations in the Denver Julesburg Basin in the drilling of over 150 wells in Colorado and Nebraska.  Promoted to President in 2008, Mr. Nicklas has led the drilling of 277 wells primarily in the Appalachian basin.  Mr. Nicklas is a graduate of Brown University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. 

Matthew C. Weinreich serves as Senior Vice President and is an original member of the Laurel Mountain Energy management team.  Mr. Weinreich is responsible for drilling, completion, and production operations and holds board positions for the company’s upstream and midstream interests.  Mr. Weinreich has held various leadership and technical roles with companies ranging from small, private equity-backed to large publicly traded companies.  During his time with Chesapeake Energy, he led successful exploration projects in multiple North American basins and developed new methodologies for unconventional play analysis.  Mr. Weinreich held leadership roles with Talisman USA Inc. that focused on business development and transitioning exploration plays into profitable development projects.  He has been a featured speaker at various industry business conferences and holds a Bachelor and Master of Science in Geology from the University of Akron and is a candidate for a Master of Business Administration from Waynesburg University.  

Mr. Dulac has more than 44 years of experience representing oil and gas operators and concentrates in all aspects of oil and gas law in the Appalachian Basin and onshore (mid-continent) Southwest United States, including property, reserve and pipeline right-of-way acquisitions and related use matters (municipal approvals); joint exploration and operating agreements; gas gathering and marketing agreements and arrangements; institutional and private equity financing and entity formation.  Mr. Dulac has represented clients principally as operator, but also large-scale landowners, and as both sellers and buyers of oil and gas producing properties throughout the Appalachian Basin, the Permian Basin, East Texas and Louisiana, including Range Resources, Shell USA, Linn Energy, JAMEX, NCX Exploration, Vista Resources, Vantage Energy, Burnett Oil Co., Inc., Rex Energy, The Hillman Company, Magnum Hunter and Momentum Energy. Mr. Dulac has been recognized as a Pennsylvania SuperLawyer by Forbes Magazine for his work in oil and gas law and is the only Pennsylvania lawyer to have achieved this recognition in the area of oil and gas law since Forbes Magazine started recognizing lawyers in that area of concentration.   Mr. Dulac is a 1978 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a 1975 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh College of Arts and Sciences and maintains offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Dallas, Texas.

Serving in this role since Laurel Mountain Energy’s inception, Ms. Brunk is responsible for all financial reporting, the monthly closing process and supporting the corporate audit and tax filing requirements.  Prior to Laurel Mountain Energy, Ms. Brunk joined Vista Resources, Inc. in 2009 to assist with the preparation of financial statements, Schedule K-1s, budgeting and Vista Drilling Program limited partnership / corporate audits.  Formerly, Ms. Brunk served as a Staff Accountant and Financial Analyst at The Institute for Transfusion Medicine.  Ms. Brunk received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Penn State University in 2005. 

Mr. Solic joined Laurel Mountain Energy in 2018 and is responsible for overseeing the land management program including lease, right of way, and fee acquisitions, reviewing title and drilling unit development responsibilities.  He has worked in the Appalachian Basin, Black Warrior Basin, and Shale Plays in Texas. Prior to this role, he served as the Land Operations Supervisor for DTE Energy in the Gas Storage and Pipelines Division (GSP), was the Senior Land Analyst – Appalachia for Atlas Resource Partners, LP, and was an Oil and Gas Title Analyst at Mendenhall Law.  Mr. Solic has an undergraduate degree from Duquesne University in Corporate Communication, a Masters in Project Management and a Masters of Business Administration from Drexel University.  He is also an active member of the American Association of Professional Landman (AAPL) and the Michael Late Benedum Chapter (MLBC).

Joining the Laurel Mountain team in 2022, Mr. Toms is responsible for all aspects of the drilling and completions operations, including but not limited to, permitting, budget development, program design, health and safety, bidding and procurement, and daily oversight. Mr. Toms also helps support construction and production activities. Since 2010, Mr. Toms has held management roles with Chief Oil and Gas, Arsenal Resources, and Energy Operating Corporation. At these organizations he was responsible for the drilling operations of Marcellus wells extending from northeastern Pennsylvania to northern West Virginia, at times supporting multiple rig programs. He has been a part of several technical discussions at industry specific conferences and is an active member of several oil and gas associations. Mr. Toms received a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Systems Engineering from Penn State University in 2007.

As an original member of the Laurel Mountain Energy management team, Mr. Michael has been involved in the drilling, logging and completion of over 2,000 oil and natural gas wells in the Appalachian Basin.  Prior to joining Laurel Mountain Energy, Mr. Michael worked at Vista Resources for over 20 years.  He developed Vista’s “Yellow Creek” liquid-rich Marcellus shale prospect in southwest Butler County, PA and was instrumental on its leasing efforts through his local knowledge of the people and area.  Vista sold its working interest in the Yellow Creek prospect to Rex Energy in two transactions between 2007 and 2009.  Before joining Vista, he served in a number of geology and exploration management positions with Cabot Oil & Gas and Doran & Associates.  Mr. Michael received a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Edinboro University in 1977 and is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association, Pittsburgh Association of Petroleum Geologists and Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists.

Mr. Parra joined Laurel Mountain Energy in 2022 and is responsible for regulatory, production and flowback operations. Mr. Parra also provides engineering support for drilling, completions, facilities, and construction operations. Prior to this role, Mr. Parra served as the Operations Manager at FyreRok Reservoir Consulting, in charge of projects across 9 different states working in natural gas storage fields. During Mr. Parra’s time at FyreRok, he served as a flowback consultant for Laurel Mountain Energy and managed the flowback for all their current producing wells. Mr. Parra went to Marrietta College where he received his Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering with a Minor in Energy Systems Engineering while playing Varsity Soccer. Mr. Parra is an active member of Society of Petroleum Engineers and American Association of Drilling Engineers.

Mr. Bliss joined the Laurel Mountain team in 2022 and is responsible for overseeing well pad construction, production facility and water infrastructure installation, production operations, and local public relations.  Mr. Bliss was part of the group that turned Laurel Mountain’s first well pad to sales in December of 2018.  He continued as a well tender/consultant until joining the Laurel Mountain management team in 2022.  Mr. Bliss graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Clarion University in May of 2000.  Following college, he served as Vice President of Production for Maple Grove Enterprises based in Clarion County overseeing the production of 200 shallow wells with associated compression and sales to various midstream companies.

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