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John W. Nichols | Oil-drilling innovator, 93

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John W. Nichols, 93, cofounder and chairman emeritus of Devon Energy Corp., died Sunday.

He died after a long illness, the Oklahoma-based company said.

Mr. Nichols registered the world's first public oil- and gas-drilling fund with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He promoted his tax-shelter investment program to renowned figures in Hollywood and American industry.

Within months, Mr. Nichols' investment idea raised more than $1.4 million. Using the seed money, he and F.G. "Blackie" Blackwood went on to build one of the region's largest oil and natural gas companies.

Mr. Nichols founded Devon in 1971 and recruited his oldest son, Larry, as a partner.

Mr. Nichols' pioneering innovations in financing oil and gas ventures had a worldwide impact on the energy industry. In 2001, Oil and Gas Investor magazine listed Mr. Nichols among the "100 Most Influential People of the Petroleum Century."

Today, Devon is the nation's largest independent oil and natural gas producer, with operations that stretch to the Gulf of Mexico, the Canadian Arctic, China, Brazil and Azerbaijan.

- AP

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