Cruz Jasso Abila Jr.

Cruz Abila Jr., 41, of Dallas, formerly of Barstow, Texas, entered eternal rest on Monday, June 2, 2015. Cruz was born on June 10, 1973 in Pecos, Texas, son of Cruz and Olga Abila. He graduated from Pecos High School in 1991. He attended Texas A&M and graduated with the Class of 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering.

The consummate west Texas oil man, Cruz employed his A&M Petroleum Engineering degree to land a spot at Texaco, commencing a twenty year career in the upstream oil and gas business. He spent five years at Texaco in a variety of roles, primarily focused on exploration and drilling activities in West Texas. Cruz spent the bulk of his career at Merit Energy Company, a leading private energy fund based in Dallas Texas, where he was promoted through a variety of engineering and management jobs culminating in a region manager position overseeing over 11,000 barrels per day equivalent of production throughout the Western United States. After leaving Merit in 2011, Cruz joined Scout Energy Partners as the third employee and Vice President of Operations. He was an important part of the firm’s growth over a three-year period, with the company doubling in size annually. As a colleague and supervisor, he was respected for his professionalism, hard work and technical knowledge, and well loved for his humor, humility and upbeat attitude.