About Us

Natural Gas Solutions. Nationwide.

Sapphire Gas Solutions provides nationwide access to CNG, RNG, and LNG solutions. We are a solutions-oriented company that helps public agencies and private businesses incorporate clean-burning natural gas and low-carbon intensity renewable natural gas.

We are an industry leader with a broad range of offerings and products, and We are dedicated to helping our clients find unique solutions for their unique problems.

Our Mission

Sustainability through the widespread integration of natural gas as a clean, reliable energy solution, driving positive change for both America and the world.

Our Vision

A future where innovative solutions transcend the norms of traditional
infrastructure and revolutionize energy delivery increasing natural gas
accessibility worldwide.

Our History

Sapphire Gas Solutions was founded in 2005 and originally focused on providing midstream solutions and support. In 2010 we entered the mobile natural gas solutions business, and developed that into our current nationwide footprint.

We have become an industry leader in pipeline integrity management, mobile natural gas solutions, and renewables.

 

Meet Our Team

The team at Sapphire is composed of pioneers in the natural gas fueling solutions business. With decades of combined experience providing natural gas end-use solutions, our team is the most experienced in the industry today.

Sam Thigpen

Founder, CEO

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Sam Thigpen

Founder, CEO

Sam Thigpen, the Founder and CEO of Sapphire Gas Solutions, is a recognized entrepreneurial leader and avid outdoorsman. He is a 2021 winner of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year® award for the Gulf Coast region and attributes his entrepreneurial success to the field and operations experience gained early in his career. Having been in the natural gas industry for 25 years, Mr. Thigpen has spent two-thirds of that time as an entrepreneur. Since founding, what is now, Sapphire Gas Solutions in 2005, the company has been recognized as an Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Company twice.

Mr. Thigpen’s background is one of vast natural gas industry experience. It spans working in natural gas processing, SCADA system installation and maintenance, offshore production service, upstream oil and gas operations, international petrochemical and LNG plant service, natural gas pipeline operations, pipeline and facility construction, gas pipeline auditing, CNG/LNG/RNG fueling station construction, CNG/LNG/RNG virtual pipeline operations, and finally, executive management and strategic leadership.

Outside of business, Sam is an avid offshore fisherman, accomplished sporting clays competitor, and enjoys outdoor activities such as pheasant, dove, and quail hunting. Mr. Thigpen is a life member of MENSA and the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry. He is also a Texas Freemason and a member of the Woodlands Church, in The Woodlands, TX.

Uriel Sáenz

Chief Financial Officer

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Uriel Sáenz

Chief Financial Officer

Uriel Sáenz serves as the Chief Financial Officer for Sapphire Gas Solutions. Before joining the Sapphire team, Uriel served as the CFO for AlliedUP Cooperative, a startup in the healthcare industry. He has also spent more than 25 years in the Oil and Gas industry with various companies, including Chart Industries, Dresser-Rand/Siemens, and GE, serving as VP of Finance Energy and Chemicals, Sr. Director of Finance and Controller for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Director of Finance for Global Services, Global Financial Planning, and Analysis Manager, and Latin America Finance Manager.

He brings a broad range of international and industry experience and has led organizations in Latin America and Europe. He started his career as an Internal Auditor at Honeywell. Uriel received in B.B.A. in Finance and International Business from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Texas A&M University. Uriel is bilingual in English/Spanish and has a working knowledge of French. He lives in Cypress, Texas, with his wife and child, Marisol and Santiago.

Jeremy Gilliam

Chief Operations Officer

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Jeremy Gilliam

Chief Operations Officer

Jeremy Gilliam serves as Executive Vice President of Operations for Sapphire Gas Solutions. In this role, Jeremy oversees field service operations, sourcing, logistics, projects, and engineering. Prior to joining the Sapphire team, Jeremy worked for Rockwater Energy Solutions, the oilfield chemicals division of Select Energy Services, for more than nine years in various senior operations roles, including Vice President of Manufacturing & Distribution, Vice President of Operations, Vice President of Operations Support, and Vice President of Business Analysis. Jeremy began his career in oilfield services as part of the senior leadership team of Mountain Drilling Company, a private equity backed startup drilling contractor, serving as Corporate Controller. Prior to his time in the oilfield, Jeremy held various finance and accounting positions with Brinker International after beginning his career in public accounting with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dallas, TX. Jeremy received an M.S. in Finance and B.B.A. in Accounting from Texas A&M University and is licensed as a CPA in the State of Texas.

Patrick De Ville

Executive Vice President of Gas & Power

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Patrick De Ville

Executive Vice President of Gas & Power

Mr. Patrick De Ville has a history of building strong businesses and successful teams for over 30 years. During that time, Mr. De Ville has been an executive in several energy related sectors including commodities trading, natural gas storage, and LNG/CNG supply network expansion and logistics management. In his current role at Sapphire Gas Solutions as Executive Vice President, he oversees all energy supply and logistics for the company as well as operations for the Energy Management division.

Prior to Sapphire Gas Solutions, Mr. De Ville was Vice President of Energy Management at Clean Energy Fuels where he expanded the company’s LNG supply network to the largest in the nation to support the adoption of natural gas fueling for vehicles. Later he restructured the purchasing of all natural gas and electricity for the company and implemented hedging strategies for both Clean Energy and it’s customers to avoid market volatility and price uncertainty.

Mr. De Ville’s passion is to improve the performance of companies by driving out operational inefficiencies and developing novel strategies to expand the company’s market presence and profitability. He strongly believes that approaching business challenges or opportunities with win-win solutions is the best way to build trust with partners as well as achieve the best results for all involved.

Patrick is a 1988 graduate of Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelors degree in Finance as well as a 1993 graduate of the University of North Texas with a MBA in Finance.

Katherine Lowe

Vice President of People Operations

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Katherine Lowe

Vice President of People Operations

Katherine Lowe, SHRM-CP, MA is a well-versed human resources professional with over 17 years of experience and nearly a decade in the energy and chemical industry. Mrs. Lowe specializes in the areas of talent acquisition, talent development, and employee relations. Katherine’s connection with others and relentless perseverance to meet goals allow her to be a key resource. Mrs. Lowe provides quality results in high-pressure situations, effectively handles multiple priorities while demonstrating exceptional business judgment and discretion.

Scott Johns

Chief Commercial Officer

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Scott Johns

Chief Commercial Officer

Mr. Scott Johns serves as Chief Commercial Officer for Sapphire Gas Solutions. Scott is a business leader, responsible for development of corporate strategy, business building, strategic M&A activity, and performance improvement activities for Sapphire. Prior to joining Sapphire, Scott lead the commercial activity for CLEANCOR LNG LLC as President of the distribution business, including marketing, sales and business development for virtual pipeline and fleet fueling. Scott has served in various senior leadership positions including Vice President of Sales for Applied LNG Technologies, a merchant liquefaction production platform based on the West Coast and is responsible for hundreds of millions of gallons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel sales across the nation in his career.

Scott is an environmentally focused individual whose understanding of the relationship between fuel choices and quality of life has led to regulatory change. In 2007, Scott successfully lobbied for changes in the shore power/Cold Ironing regulation passed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to reduce emissions from ocean going vessels calling at ports in California. He holds a B.S. degree from California State University Long Beach. With his scientific background in chemistry and industrial fuel applications allied with an in-depth environmental knowledge base and regulatory understanding, Scott is frequently in demand as a conference speaker.

James Ainsworth

 Vice President, Transportation

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James Ainsworth

Vice President, Transportation

James Ainsworth serves as Vice President, Transportation for Sapphire Gas Solutions. As the head of this newly formed and expanding Division, Mr. Ainsworth leads all functions regarding truck transport fuel and equipment deliveries, logistics, dispatch, and fleet management of both heavy and light duty assets.

Mr. Ainsworth began his career in the energy industry at Ferrellgas, a major propane marketer, where he had P&L and executive responsibility for the company’s internal 200 truck transport fleet, safe delivery of up to one billion gallons of LP Gas annually, and advocated for both company and industry interests in state and national propane industry association roles.

Mr. Ainsworth believes that a primary responsibility of senior leaders is to put the right people, operations, infrastructure, processes and metrics into place to ensure the success of the organization and has demonstrated this ability throughout his career.

In his personal life, Mr. Ainsworth is a devoted husband and father of three daughters and enjoys time with his family. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Texas A&M University.