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Paul McKinney

President & CEO | Ring Energy | Petroleum engineer leading a Central Permian Basin pure-play

"Petroleum engineer and CEO of Ring Energy, leading Central Permian Basin drilling, completions, and acquisition strategy"

Mining Executive

Biography

Paul McKinney is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ring Energy (NYSE American: REI), a pure-play oil producer focused on the Central Basin Platform of the Permian Basin. For resource investors, what matters is that REI's investment case rests on operational execution — drilling and completion (the post-drill work that prepares a well for production) efficiency, base-production decline management, and disciplined acquisitions — and McKinney's background is in those exact disciplines rather than in finance or capital markets narratives.

McKinney holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University and began his career at Chevron in 1984 in operations and reservoir engineering roles. He later spent thirteen years as Vice President of Operations and Reservoir Engineering at Cawley, Gillespie & Associates, a respected Texas-based petroleum consulting firm, and more than five years as Vice President at Citation Oil & Gas before joining Ring Energy. Across those stops he built a track record of evaluating mature Permian and Mid-Continent assets, which is the same geology Ring Energy targets.

He joined Ring Energy as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and Engineering in December 2021, was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer in January 2024, and has since moved into the CEO role. His focus at REI has been on Central Basin Platform acreage — horizontal drilling program design, completion design changes, waterflood management, and bolt-on acquisitions that extend lateral length and improve recoverable reserves per well.

McKinney brings more than 35 years of upstream oil and gas experience across a major, several independents, and a private operator, and serves on the board of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA). Investors following Ring Energy hear his framework most directly on quarterly conference calls and in operations-focused presentations, where he breaks down well-by-well results, capex pacing, and hedging policy rather than offering broad market commentary.

Videos (1)

Ring Energy – Q2 Operations & Financials, Oil Production Growth Within The Central Permian Basin

Ring Energy – Q2 Operations & Financials, Oil Production Growth Within The Central Permian Basin

guest Sep 11, 2026
  • Top takeaway The guest argues Ring Energy has a runway on the Central Basin Platform that public peers are not contesting — most active operators there are private — and says he prefers leasing drillable land from mineral owners over acquisitions to grow organically without overpaying
  • Says applying modern two-mile horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracs to multi-stack pay zones is unlocking conventional reservoirs on the Central Basin Platform that were historically written off as uneconomic under older vertical technology
  • Joins as chairman and CEO in 2020 at the board's request when the company was producing about 8,600 barrels a day with leverage above 4x; since then oversaw three acquisitions — Stronghold in summer 2022 (50% debt / 50% equity), the Founders deal in Hector County TX, and Lime Rock in Q1 2025 in Andrews County
  • Targets a leverage ratio at or just below 1x; states the development program is stress-tested to remain free-cash-flow positive down to $60 WTI in 2027 and that breakevens (including full G&A and corporate costs) sit well below that, so the capital outlook would not change absent a deeper price shock
  • Hired James Parr as VP / chief exploration officer from an Anadarko and Apache background to run an in-house exploration group, framing organic prospect generation as a third leg of growth alongside acquisitions and leasing

Ring Energy (REI) posted Q2 2026 net income of $64.8M, Adjusted EBITDA up 42% sequentially, and produced 12,683 barrels of oil per day within guidance. Management pivoted 2026 capex toward mostly two-mile horizontal wells in the Central Basin Platform, targeting about 10% production growth in 2027 on a smaller capital program. CFO Sonu Johl says breakevens stay below $60 WTI even covering full G&A and corporate costs, and the team targets net debt leverage below 1.25x by mid-2027 at $75 oil. A roughly $69M equity raise in May 2026 was used to repay revolver debt, giving the team optionality to redirect excess cash flow into growth drilling instead of debt paydown. CEO Paul McKinney argues that long-lateral horizontal drilling is reopening conventional multi-bench inventory in the Central Basin, where public-company competition remains surprisingly thin.

Showing 1–1 of 1 videos

Specializations

ProductionOilEnergyOil & Gas

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