Oklahoma City is home to an upstream startup, overseen by former geology exploration executives of Devon Energy Corp.

Privately held Sensex Energy Partners LP, initially to employ 18 people, was founded by CEO/President John F. Templin II, COO A. Paul Baclawski, Vice President (VP) of Engineering John H. Graham Jr., exploration VP Steve T. Whitaker and Dean R. Richmond, VP of geosciences.

“Most recently, each senior analyst was an integral member of Devon’s corporate new ventures and acquisitions, and exploration teams,” management said. Cumulative oil and gas industry experience exceeds “185 years…” It is seeking start-up venture capital to “take advantage of current investment opportunities,” by acquiring assets in producing fields and sweet spots of newly emerging trends. No initial development plans were revealed.

Sensex is the Latin root word from which “senior” is derived, the company said in a presentation posted to its website. A senex is “an older, wise sage, someone who provides valuable guidance and insight as the result of maturity and many years of experience…”

According to the company, management would participate for 20% in every oil and gas project or acquisition project that it proposes. Participation is offered on an actual cost basis.

Templin, a petroleum geologist, formerly was a geology adviser for Devon, working in among other areas, the Wind River Basin in Wyoming and the Mississippian Lime formation. He also said he helped Devon characterize its holdings in the Upper Eagle Ford Shale in East Texas, including the Woodbine, Buda, Edwards, Georgetown and Travis Peak plays. He previously was CEO of Petro Sources Inc., whose subsidiaries work in the U.S. onshore, Australia and North Africa.

Baclawski, a former asset team geologist for Devon, worked on the Bluebell-Altamont field in Utah, as well as in the Bearpaw area of north-central Montana. He also was part of a team that analyzed unconventional plays for Devon including the Paradox, Kerr, Northern Delaware, Great, Sand Wash, Uinta and Williston basins. Baclawski previously worked for Champlin Petroleum Co./Union Pacific Resources, Moncrief Oil Co. and the Geoquest division of Schlumberger Ltd. In addition, he co-owned Trinity River Operating Co.

Graham also worked for Devon on a multi-disciplinary team to evaluate several unconventional plays in North America, including the Bakken/Three Forks and Powder River Basin. Whitaker worked as a former geological adviser for Devon for four years and previously was Illinois Basin geology manager for Rex Energy Corp. Whitaker also worked for six years as a geologist for the Illinois State Geological Survey. Richmond is Devon’s former senior staff geologist; he also was a senior geologist for four years at SM Energy Co. and for four years at Occidental Petroleum Corp.