Speakers
Daniel Brooks
Alex Campbell
Keelen Hauptman
Education Session
This panel brings together experienced land professionals from key producing basins to provide a practical, ground-level perspective on today’s oil and gas landscape. Panelists will share insights into their roles, companies, and operating regions while comparing how differences in geology, regulatory environments, and surface/mineral ownership impact operations. The discussion will focus on what it takes to stay ahead of the drill bit, including permitting timelines, coordination across stakeholders, and navigating basin-specific constraints such as infrastructure, water availability, and regulatory challenges—alongside the advantages that make each basin competitive.
Beyond day-to-day operations, the panel will explore broader industry forces shaping land strategy, including state and federal policy shifts, ESG considerations, commodity price volatility, and ongoing consolidation. Panelists will discuss how these factors are influencing leasing activity, timelines, and operator behavior, while also highlighting emerging trends and challenges that may define the next 3–5 years. The session will conclude with personal anecdotes from the field, underscoring the human element that remains central to land work.
Keelen Hauptman is the Director of Land, Regulatory, and Government Relations at Anschutz Exploration Corporation. She is responsible for all mineral and surface land activity across the company’s operated assets of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. She also manages the company’s regulatory permitting efforts, government and community outreach, and advocacy.
Prior to joining Anschutz Exploration Corporation, Keelen held key land roles at Whiting Petroleum Corporation (now Chord Energy) and Foundation Energy Management, where she focused heavily on navigating oil and gas operations in the Rockies.
Keelen holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Energy Management and International Business from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Science in Global Energy Management from the University of Colorado Denver. Outside of work, Keelen enjoys fishing and hunting in her native Montana, in addition to traveling the world with her husband and daughter.
Michael A Pisciotte, CPL, is director of Land & Contracts at Mull Drilling Company, Inc., an independent E&P company in Wichita, Kansas, where he oversees the Land Department and serves on the executive leadership team. Prior to joining Mull in July 2024, he spent over 17 years as land manager at Murfin Drilling Company, Inc, where he led the Land & Legal Department, and worked as an independent field landman in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions for several years.
Pisciotte has greatly enjoyed his time as a landman and becoming involved with local industry professionals. He has served in many capacities for the Wichita Association of Professional Landmen, including vice president, president, and twice as AAPL director. He maintains an active behind-the-scenes role with WAPL, remaining involved in educational seminars, annual sporting clays and sponsorship of local member certifications. Mr. Pisciotte also serves on the Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association Executive Committee as South Central vice-chair on the board of directors.
After joining AAPL in 2008, Pisciotte soon earned his RPL, followed by his CPL in 2011. He currently serves as immediate past chair of the Awards Committee, as a board member of the AAPL Educational Foundation and as a member of the Accreditation Committee. In addition to his past terms as treasurer for AAPL, the AAPL Educational Foundation and the NAPE Charities Fund, he has served as AAPL’s third vice president, AAPL director (two terms), chair of the Ethics Committee and the Membership Committee, and president of the AAPL Educational Foundation. He also has served on numerous committees, including Certification, Finance, Investment Advisory, Strategic Planning Taskforce, EVP Search, and Affinity Vendor Group and Treasurer’s Advisory Group, as well as liaison to Leg/Reg, NOC, Tax Issues, SWLI, Technology, GeoCare, and Field Landman Seminar and previous nominating subcommittees.
Pisciotte earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a master’s degree in public administration from Wichita State University with an emphasis on public finance, budgeting and organizational management. He previously worked for three public municipalities as a manager/administrator buts enjoys landwork much, much more.
He is a proud son of Colorado’s Western Slope, where he met and married his lovely bride, Victoria. They have been blessed with three wonderful children — Dylan, Kierstin and Joseph —along with four amazing grandchildren: Gretchen, Violet, AJ and Jasper. Pisciotte enjoys the mountains, outdoor activities, reading and spending time with and admiring his family.