When Tim Marquez was forced out of the oil and gas company he co-founded in 1992, he didn’t take it lying down.
Marquez, a Denver native, sued Venoco Inc. for breach of contract and wrongful termination. They settled their differences, and Marquez later bought out his old partners at Venoco to gain full control.
He moved the company to Denver from Santa Barbara, Calif., last year.
Marquez’s 100 percent stake in Venoco – which is planning an initial public offering of stock later this year – could be worth more than $290 million, according to company filings.
Marquez, who friends say pronounces his name “Markus,” graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School.
In November, he gave $10 million to the Colorado School of Mines, where he earned an engineering degree in 1980. The money is being used to jump-start fundraising for a new petroleum engineering building on the Golden campus.
The generosity doesn’t surprise friends and associates, who say Marquez combines business smarts and aggressiveness with an interest in broader issues facing his industry and community.
Venoco is one of the largest oil- and natural gas-producing companies operating in California. It has three offshore platforms in Southern California, and inland wells in the state.
“One of the keys to Venoco’s long-term success … is that it has addressed challenges operationally as well as community relations,” said J.C. “Mac” McFarland, a California oilman and Venoco board member. “Venoco has been a sincere and generous corporate citizen in Santa Barbara, and I expect we will do the same in other communities in which we operate.”
The company had revenues of $137.9 million last year, up from $126.7 million a year earlier. But profits were $16.1 million, down from $46.3 million in 2004, due in part to increased costs.
In December, Venoco filed registration with regulators for an IPO later this year. A date, dollar amount and share price haven’t been announced. But the company said an independent appraiser conservatively valued its shares at $8.85.
Marquez owns all of Venoco’s 32.7 million shares, though several other executives own stock options.
Venoco has been sued by Beverly Hills High School graduates who claim its wells on the school grounds have caused cancer and other illnesses. A trial was scheduled for this spring.
Staff writer Greg Griffin can be reached at 303-820-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com.
