Thistle Creek Capital

J. Mike Stice is the Managing Partner and leads investment decisions. His background is operational, not financial — he was President of ConocoPhillips Qatar, CEO of Chesapeake Midstream Partners, and Dean of the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy at the University of Oklahoma. Investment decisions at Thistle Creek reflect this hands-on energy-operator lens.

There is no public evidence that Thistle Creek engages in upstream exploration and production. The firm's known investment themes — midstream infrastructure, carbon capture, hydrogen, and CO₂ transportation — position it in the infrastructure and energy-transition layers that sit between the wellhead and the end user.

Stice has been publicly vocal that the energy transition must work with, not against, existing hydrocarbon infrastructure. Thistle Creek's investments appear to target the decarbonization stack — carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS); hydrogen from natural gas; and midstream assets that can be repurposed for low-carbon fuels. The thesis is pragmatic: the people who built the energy system are best positioned to decarbonize it.

Public filings and available records suggest a preference for direct investments and board-level engagement rather than passive fund commitments. Stice's board service at portfolio-adjacent companies aligns with a direct, operationally involved investment style.