Bios
Texas GulfLink Corporate Officers & Directors
Jeff Ballard | President & Chief Executive Officer
Jeff Ballard is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Sentinel Midstream, bringing nearly 20 years of leadership experience in the U.S. midstream and energy-infrastructure sectors. His career is defined by the successful development of large-scale, capital-intensive projects that emphasize safety, environmental responsibility, regulatory compliance, and multi-stakeholder coordination. Since Sentinel’s inception, Jeff has led the development and advancement of the Texas GulfLink deepwater export project, a significant initiative designed to modernize U.S. export infrastructure, strengthen energy security, and support federal and state economic priorities. Jeff has also successfully directed the creation and execution of multiple joint-venture infrastructure platforms between Sentinel Midstream and ExxonMobil. These ventures positioned Sentinel as a major supplier of crude oil infrastructure solutions serving U.S. exports and Gulf Coast refineries, supporting one of the world’s most critical refining corridors. Prior to founding Sentinel Midstream, Jeff served as a Director of Commercial Development at Silver Creek Midstream. His earlier experience includes business-development leadership roles with JP Energy Partners and American Midstream Partners, overseeing commercial expansions and marketing in the Permian Basin. Jeff also held senior commercial responsibilities within Pioneer Natural Resources’ Eagle Ford midstream division, later integrated into Enterprise Products, and previously served in commercial roles at Energy Transfer Partners. A United States Army veteran and Operation Iraqi Freedom combat veteran, Jeff brings a disciplined, mission-focused approach to leadership. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and Management from Dallas Baptist University.
Brad Ramsey | Chief Operating Officer for GulfLink
Brad Ramsey has over 33 years of engineering, construction and operations experience in the upstream, midstream and downstream energy sectors with Koch, Valero, NuStar Energy and multiple energy infrastructure construction companies that he developed and managed. Brad served as President and CEO of Easton Energy, a natural gas liquids company with over 400 miles of pipelines and holds the position of Cresta Operating Partner supporting multiple portfolio companies in a range of capacities. Brad has in depth midstream experience in the crude, natural gas, natural gas liquids and refined products business segments where he developed teams to execute several billion in capital projects in 6 countries including large storage terminals, pipelines, rail and truck facilities as well as marine terminals with Single Point Mooring (SPM) systems.
Blair Mathews | Chief Financial Officer
Blair Mathews has nearly 20 years of experience in the upstream and midstream sectors with a focus on financial planning and analysis, transaction and contract negotiation, and acquisitions and divestitures. Before becoming Chief Financial Officer at Texas GulfLink, he served as Business Development Director at EXCO Resources (“EXCO”) where he was responsible for leading the acquisition and divestiture efforts for EXCO’s upstream and midstream assets across multiple areas. Blair is a founding management team member, joining Sentinel and Texas GulfLink in 2019. Blair is the CFO for Sentinel and ExxonMobil’s two crude oil midstream pipeline joint ventures, which provide crude oil to multiple refineries in the Gulf Coast. Blair has also served as the CFO for Easton Energy, an NGL storage and pipeline company, and Blackbuck Resources, which is a water infrastructure disposal company in the Permian Basin. Blair is a founding management team member, joining Sentinel and Texas GulfLink in 2019. Blair is the CFO for Sentinel and ExxonMobil’s two crude oil midstream pipeline joint ventures, which provide crude oil to multiple refineries in the Gulf Coast. Blair has also served as the CFO for Easton Energy, an NGL storage and pipeline company, and Blackbuck Resources, which is a water infrastructure disposal company in the Permian Basin.
Keith W. Pollock | VP of Engineering
Keith is the Sentinel VP of Engineering, joining the company in 2019 and immediately starting work on the Texas GulfLink Deepwater Terminal. Keith has 22 years of engineering, construction and project management experience at Chevron Pipeline, Cal Dive International and other midstream and civil infrastructure construction companies. Keith has experience in both onshore and offshore major capital projects along the U.S. Gulf Coast, the Gulf of America and abroad in Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. Prior to serving as a Project Manager at Chevron Pipeline, he was a Senior Project Engineer with Cal Dive International where he managed all areas of shallow water pipeline installation/salvage, platform installation/salvage, topside hook-up and onshore fabrication. He has managed development and execution of multiple midstream capital projects that support petrochemical distribution throughout the Houston area. Keith earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University.
Capt. Daniel Harris | Director of Marine Operations
Captain Harris has over 37 years of marine experience. He brings over 18 years of experience as a Mooring Master for various operations including at Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (“LOOP”). Captain Harris has over 20 years of sailing experience on US flagged vessels, which were primarily tankers on the Alaskan trade for BP. In 1999-2001, he was accredited as an OCIMF SIRE vetting inspector (gas, chemical, oil) where he made over 300 inspections on behalf of BP, Exxon and Shell. Captain Harris also served two years as BP’s Port Captain for the Southeast US Coast region. He was responsible for marine activities including vetting, terminal audits, Alliance Refinery marine terminal operations, barge safety audits, and high-risk cargo risk mitigation in South America for the BP trading group. He also served as a member of BP’s oil spill response team. In support of Operation Desert Storm, he sailed as Master on the Ro-Ro Vessel Cape Hudson for the Military Sealift Command, delivering military cargoes to the Persian Gulf.
Captain Harris has held multiple certifications including USCG Masters Unlimited, Oceans License (sixth issue), and has a first-class Pilotage endorsement for Prince William Sound in Alaska. Captain Dan graduated from New York Maritime College at Fort Schuyler and earned a B.S. in Marine Transportation.
Brett Hunter | Senior Vice President of Business Development
Brett has over 23 years of leadership experience in the U.S. midstream sector, predominantly focused on crude oil business development. He has played a critical role in several major projects, including pipeline expansions and terminal development. During his time at Sentinel Midstream, he has led marketing efforts for Texas GulfLink by creating and maintaining key relationships with domestic and international customers. He also leads commercial development for both Sentinel Midstream joint venture partnerships with ExxonMobil. Brett prides himself on providing premium customer service, by focusing on operational efficiency and commercial creativity. Prior to joining Sentinel Midstream, he was Owner and President of Energy Hunter LLC, a sole proprietorship that provided consulting services in the energy industry. In this function he worked with several clients and provided industry leadership by writing articles and presenting at industry events. Prior to founding Energy Hunter LLC, Brett was Vice President of Crude Oil Commercial for Magellan Midstream Partners, where he led a team responsible for business and commercial development, quality control, scheduling, inventory management, and commercial technology. During his time with Magellan, he was involved in significant growth of the crude oil assets, including pipeline and terminal growth projects and the evaluation of acquisitions. Brett was instrumental in the development of the Magellan East Houston facility, an important trading hub for Midland WTI on the U.S. Gulf Coast. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tulsa and a Master of Business Administration from Oklahoma State University.
Matt Eagan | General Counsel
Matt Eagan is an accomplished corporate counsel with more than 15 years of experience serving clients in the energy space. For the past 5 years, Matt has served as the General Counsel for Sentinel and its subsidiary, Texas GulfLink. Matt has significant applied experience with the federal permitting process, including NEPA review, having successfully steered Texas GulfLink through a complex legal and regulatory review culminating in a positive Record of Decision.
Prior to joining Sentinel, Matt served as Senior Counsel and Assistant Secretary at Summit Midstream Partners, LLC, where he managed commercial, dispute-resolution, corporate governance, regulatory, and human-resources matters. Matt also led Summit’s enterprise risk management program. Before joining Summit, Matt was an associate at the law firm of Baker Botts, LLP in Dallas. Matt earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia and a Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law.
Tyler M. Abadie, P.E. | Engineering, Operations, Regulatory Compliance