Five oil and gas executives in top 10 on state’s highest-paid list

DENVER – Four newcomers from the oil and gas industry pushed their way into the ranks of the 10 highest-paid Colorado executives last year, representatives of a downtrodden industry trying to make a comeback.

The Denver Post reports that Mark Erickson, chairman and chief executive of Extraction Oil & Gas, and Matthew Owens, the company’s president, came out of nowhere to claim the second and third spots on the highest-paid list.

The pair, who launched Denver-based Extraction in 2012, reported compensation of $26.4 million and $26.3 million respectively in 2016, a 43-fold increase from what they made in 2015, when the company was still private.

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Alvyn Schopp, chief administrative officer at Antero Resources and Thomas Jorden, chairman, chief executive and president of Cimarex Energy, were the two other energy industry executives who entered the top 10, taking the seventh and eight spots with $13.7 million and $13.2 million, respectively.

Gary Goldberg, chief executive of Newmont Mining, a regular on in the highest-paid list, reported compensation of $16.6 million, claiming the fourth spot, which he also held on last year’s list.