Longtime GPA Midstream leader Mark Sutton remembered

Mark Sutton

GPA Midstream and GPSA announced the passing of former President and CEO Mark Sutton, who died at the age of 68 following a sudden health issue and brief hospital stay. Sutton retired in 2019 after 37 years with the associations, including 27 years as the top executive. He led the organizations through significant shifts in the midstream sector and left a legacy defined by adaptability, consensus building, and commitment to industry advancement.

Sutton began his career in the natural gas industry in 1980 after earning a mechanical engineering degree from Oklahoma State University. He joined the Gas Processors Association (GPA) in 1982 as Director of Technical Services and was promoted to President and CEO a decade later. His leadership continued through the organization’s eventual evolution into GPA Midstream.

In his early years with the association, gas processing operations were typically divisions within integrated oil companies such as Exxon, Shell, Mobil, and Texaco, or other energy firms like Cities Service, Warren Petroleum, and Phillips 66. But as energy markets evolved during the 1980s and 1990s, many of those companies exited domestic gas processing, divesting assets to emerging midstream-only firms. Sutton led GPA through this transition, keeping the organization relevant and valuable to a new wave of members and companies focused on domestic gas gathering, processing, treating, and transportation.

He emphasized operational discipline and high-impact deliverables, prioritizing value-driven research and financial management. Under Sutton’s leadership, GPA Midstream and GPSA maintained focus on technical excellence, advocacy, and volunteer engagement, even as industry structure and membership demographics shifted.

Sutton was widely credited with cultivating a collaborative culture within the associations, enabling long-term volunteer participation and facilitating expert-driven initiatives. He also worked to ensure the associations could adapt to a more diverse membership base following consolidation, globalization, and the arrival of new business models in the U.S. energy market.

GPA Midstream officials noted that Sutton’s contributions went beyond administration — he fostered a deep professional community, advocated for practical research funding models, and instilled a culture of transparency and inclusion. His management helped sustain GPA Midstream through industry downturns and upcycles alike.

In 2021, GPA Midstream honored Sutton with the Hanlon Award, the association’s highest individual recognition for career contributions to the midstream industry.

Sutton’s contributions to engineering and midstream operations were also recognized by his alma mater. In 2020, he was inducted into the Oklahoma State University College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Hall of Fame and received the Melvin R. Lohmann Medal, an award for distinguished engineering alumni.

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Sutton moved to Oklahoma at age six and remained closely connected to the state and to OSU. He originally enrolled in college with the goal of becoming a marine biologist, inspired by Jacques Cousteau, but changed direction at the urging of his father, an engineer.

Even after retirement, Sutton remained a respected figure within the midstream sector, often cited as an example of association leadership done right — practical, well-informed, and grounded in trust.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Sutton’s honor to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Sutton is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren. GPA Midstream and GPSA expressed deep sympathy to the Sutton family and noted that the industry has lost not only a leader but a friend to many.