Nate Guidry/Post-Gazette
Stan Berdell
Stan Berdell is the President of BLX, Inc., a privately owned and operated independent producer of natural gas established in 1989. The company operates wells & leases in the Appalachian Basin. They were the first independent producer to drill and produce Marcellus Shale wells in Western PA. In addition, Stan is the managing partner of Redmill Drilling, Kinzua Oil, LLC, and Mt. Pleasant Enterprises, all of which operate wells in Western PA. BLX, Inc. has been a member of PIOGA for 15+ years. Stan is very active in his community, serving as President of the Richard G. Snyder YMCA Board of Directors, Armstrong School District Board of Directors, and he is running for his third term on the PIOGA board.
Jim Kaplon
Jim Kaplon is the Controller for BLX, Inc. He earned a B.S. degree in accounting from the Pennsylvania State University and has worked in the natural resource industry for more than 27 years—the last 19 years in the oil and gas field for BLX. Prior to employment with BLX, Jim served as the controller for a group of coal process engineers for approximately 8 years and also worked for the Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General for more than 10 years. Jim’s employment with BLX occurred during the company’s earliest stages of development and, with the guidance of Stan Berdell, established the framework to properly handle the growth of BLX and its related companies and partnerships. Currently, the management of BLX operates approximately 600 oil and gas wells within a structure of 6 companies and 14 partnerships. As BLX continues to develop its holdings of Marcellus Shale acreage, the structure of BLX is expected to increase along the same lines.