OUR TEAM

Ted W. Walters

Owner/Principal

Ted W. Walters, Owner and Principal of Sendero Resources, Inc., has been in the oil and gas business since 1974.   A native of Texas, Ted earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management from The University of Texas in Austin in 1970. 

From 1974 until 1976, Ted worked as a Contract Landman in East Texas, gaining his first experiences in courthouse title work and lease trades and negotiations.  In late 1976, Ted went to work for Herd Producing Company, L.P. as a Landman, and quickly progressed through the ranks as Vice President and Land Manager, Exploration Manager, and Executive Vice President, respectively.  He also served as Executive Vice President of Horizon Natural Gas Corporation, a wholly-owned pipeline subsidiary of Herd Producing Company, L.P.

While employed at Herd, Ted achieved his Certified Professional Landman designation (#3105, in May of 1982), served as President of the East Texas Association of Petroleum Landmen (1983), and was honored as Outstanding Landman by the ETAPL with the Brantley Jackson Award (1985).  He also received his MBA an emphasis on Economics and Finance from the University of Texas at Tyler (1985) and served as AAPL Director, Region III (1985 – 1987).

In 1987, Ted became President and Chief Operating Officer of Destiny Oil & Gas, L.P., a small oil and gas exploration company involved in the acquisition and sale of drilling prospects in the East Texas Basin, the Mississippian Reef play in North Texas, and the Pennsylvanian play in New Mexico. 

While at Destiny, Ted also served as Assistant Chairman of the Industry Affairs Committee of the AAPL (1989 - 1990). 

In 1992, Ted left Destiny to serve as Certified Environmental Inspector and Representative in the Ark-La-Tex Area for Enact, L.P., an environmental firm providing complete service beginning with Phase I Environmental Inspections through Phase III, Cleanup and Remediation.  Also in 1992, he earned the designation of Certified Environmental Inspector (#8369).

In 1992, Ted founded Sendero Resources, Inc.  Sendero has a proven track record of putting prospects together and – more importantly – getting them drilled.  1992 is also the year when Ted founded Ted W. Walters & Associates, L.P., a full-service land brokerage firm. 

Ted is an active member of the AAPL, ETAPL and the ArkLaTex Landman’s Associations.  He enjoys the outdoors and resides in Tyler with his wife, Chelsey.

Milton A. (Mickey) Surles, Jr.

Texas Professional Geoscientist License #1111

AAPG Certified Petroleum Geologist #5459

Mickey Surles is an independent consulting geologist who develops prospects on which Sendero acquires oil, gas and mineral leases. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Geology from Baylor University in December 1983, and went on to earn his Master's Degree in Geology also from Baylor in May 1986. While at Baylor, Mickey was named to Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities.  He earned Academic Excellence Award in the Study of Geology from the Southwest Section AAPG, and was honored with Best Student Paper on two occasions, once by the Southwest Regional Meeting of the Geological Society of America and again by the AAPG National Convention in 1985.

After graduating from Baylor, Mickey served as a Property Analyst with Vinson and Elkins Law Firm in Houston. While there, he was responsible for analyzing and evaluating major property transactions with a concentration in oil and gas properties.

Mickey left Vinson and Elkins in 1988 to join Marathon Oil Company, where he served as Exploration Geologist for the Gulf of Mexico with concentration on the Miocene trend Offshore Texas and the Pliocene trend in West Cameron.  He conducted pre-drill evaluation and prioritization of Marathon’s leasehold in the Gulf and the subsequent drilling evaluation of the same.  He also served as Development Geologist in Marathon’s Lafayette office, again offshore Gulf of Mexico, this time focusing on producing properties and making recommendations for future development.

In 1991, Mickey advanced to Geologist in charge of Exploration and Development of Marathon interests along the western margin of the East Texas Basin and North Central Texas.  His primary concentration was on the Jurassic section including Smackover, Cotton Valley Lime, Bossier/Cotton Valley sands, and the Cretaceous Travis Peak sands in Freestone, Henderson, Limestone, and Navarro Counties, Texas.  Successful programs included the drilling development of the Oaks/Pine Oak Creek Fields in Limestone and Freestone Counties, and the discovery of the Chicken Soup Smackover Field in Henderson County.

From late 1998 through 2000, Mickey was Lead Geologist in charge of play development and exploration opportunities for Marathon’s South Texas Frio/Vicksburg exploration effort, Texas Gulf Coast.  He was responsible for play identification, data acquisition and management, prospect identification and development, prospect inventory management, risk and reserve evaluation, partner searches and meetings.  The team efforts yielded an exploration play with over eleven prospect opportunities identified with an un-risked reserve potential of 1.5 TCF. 

After twelve years at Marathon, Mickey struck out on his own and started generating oil and gas opportunities including exploratory and exploitation prospects, and acquisition and development opportunities in East Texas, North Louisiana, and South Texas Gulf Coast.  His new discoveries include the Carson Ridge, West Bald Prairie, Ponderosa, and Ponderosa East projects.

As a consulting geologist, he also conducts regional studies, developmental geological analysis, risk analysis, reserve estimation, and tight gas sand analysis.  Mickey has worked with Valence Operating Company, Clayton Williams Energy, The George R. Brown Partnership, NuTech Energy Alliance, O’Ryan Oil and Gas,  Sendero Resources, Eagle Oil & Gas Company, Rippy Energy, and PetroQuest Energy.

Since about 2002, he has worked primarily with Sendero Resources, Inc., developing geologic ideas and reviewing/advising the organization on outside deals.

Mickey lives in Tyler with his wife and two children.