About

Nicole Singer is the Vice President of Land and General Counsel of Santo Petroleum and its affiliated companies. Santo is a privately-owned independent minerals, royalties, exploration and production company with a long-standing presence of upstream operated and non-operated oil and gas assets in the Permian Basin region of southeast New Mexico.

With over 20 years of experience in various land and legal roles in the oil and gas industry, Nicole has led, managed and successfully closed over USD$1bn in transactional matters. In her current leadership position, she oversees all land, real estate and legal functions of the Santo companies, including handling all major projects, contracts, acquisitions, divestitures and corporate legal matters.

Before joining Santo in 2018, Nicole held roles with Shell Exploration and Production Company, Marathon Oil Company, and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy), working in both legal and land departments. She has developed a broad and strong foundation of legal, transactional, and commercial expertise supporting exploration, development, and drilling operations. Nicole has led litigation, leasing, procurement and business development projects in major US Onshore areas including the Permian Basin, Eagle Ford, Bakken, Appalachia and Alaska.

Nicole previously served as the Chair of the Houston Bar Association Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Section (now the Energy Law Section) where she held active officer roles in the section for six years. She is also a current member of Women in Minerals (WIM), ADAM-Houston Energy Network, the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA), the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico (IPANM), the Texas Bar Association, the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL), and has held officer positions with the West Houston Association of Professional Landmen (WHAPL).

Nicole is committed to providing legal support to underprivileged individuals and has partnered with Houston Volunteer Lawyers, Kids in Need of Defense, Tahirih Justice Center, Catholic Charities, Child Advocates and Texas Access to Justice Foundation, serving as pro bono counsel in several cases to secure permanent residency, special immigrant juvenile status and asylum for unaccompanied minors. Additionally, Nicole volunteered as a board member for the Weekley Family YMCA for seven years, including two years as chair of the center’s Community Capital Campaign.

Nicole earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, cum laude, from Texas Tech University School of Law and undergraduate degree with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin. She is married to David Singer, Land Representative for Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company, and together they have two children, JD (15) and Maddie (11). Nicole enjoys downhill skiing and playing poker, golf, and pickleball.