Coskata, Inc. Elects Natural Gas Executives John A. Crum and Christopher A. Helms to Board of Directors
WARRENVILLE, Ill., Aug 23, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Coskata, Inc., a technology leader in the production of alternative fuels and chemicals, today announced that John A. Crum and Christopher A. Helms have been elected to the company's Board of Directors, effective immediately. These appointments come on the heels of the company's recent shift in strategy to utilize America's abundant and low-cost supply of natural gas as the sole feedstock for its first commercial facility. With more than 60 years of combined experience in the natural gas industry, these executives bolster the company's expertise as it works toward commercialization.
Coskata has been successfully producing ethanol from natural gas for the last five years at its pilot facility in Warrenville, Illinois, and its demonstration plant in Madison, Pennsylvania. Using natural gas as a feedstock, Coskata believes it can achieve unsubsidized production costs well below that of current transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel and corn-based ethanol.
"Coskata's board of directors is critical to driving our strategic growth, and we look to add board members from relevant industries that will help drive our company toward commercialization and long-term profitability," said William Roe, Chief Executive Officer of Coskata. "We believe John and Chris will provide valuable perspective and help us better understand and navigate the American natural gas landscape."
Mr. Crum is President and Chief Executive Officer of Midstates Petroleum Company, LLC, an independent exploration and production company focused on the application of modern drilling and completion techniques to oil-prone resources in previously discovered yet underdeveloped hydrocarbon trends. Prior to Midstates, Mr. Crum was the co-chief operating officer and president, North America, of Apache Corp. and previously served in various positions at the company including executive vice president and president of Apache Canada Ltd., and executive vice president and managing director, Apache North Sea, among others. Mr. Crum has also served in executive and management roles with Aquila Energy Resources Corporation, Pacific Enterprises Oil Company, Southland Royalty Company and Conoco.
"This is a great opportunity to join a company with a strong platform technology, compelling economics and an accomplished management team," said John Crum, Coskata board member. "Coskata's feedstock-flexible technology can utilize natural gas to offer an affordable fuel alternative for consumers and a reliable partner for America's natural gas industry."
Mr. Helms is the Chief Executive Officer of US Shale Energy Advisors, LLC, a firm that specializes in providing advisory services to companies on issues arising out of the emerging North American shale developments. Previously, Mr. Helms was the Executive Vice President and Group Chief Executive Officer of NiSource, Inc., one of America's premier regulated energy providers. In this role, Mr. Helms was responsible for a portfolio of growth projects tied to NiSource's 17,000-mile network of natural gas pipeline and storage assets. He was responsible for all commercial/regulatory, operations and project development functions related to NiSource Gas Transmission and Storage , and instrumental in executing an aggressive growth strategy for NiSource's midstream gathering and processing businesses.
"Coskata's process allows otherwise trapped natural gas to be converted and transported within the U.S. and globally, in a value-added liquid form," said Chris Helms, Coskata board member. "The transportation and distribution infrastructure for ethanol is robust and Coskata is uniquely positioned to produce ethanol at a competitive cost due to its ability to utilize reasonably priced natural gas."
For more information about Coskata's commercialization plans and the newly elected Board of Directors, please visit www.coskata.com .
About Coskata
Coskata Inc. is a technology leader in alternative fuels and chemicals. The company's low-cost, proprietary process converts a wide variety of abundant feedstocks, such as natural gas, wood, garbage, industrial gases and other carbon-containing materials, into fuels and chemicals. Coskata has combined best-in-class synthesis gas production and cleaning technologies with molecular biology and process engineering capabilities to create a novel synthesis gas fermentation technology platform.
SOURCE: Coskata, Inc.