Jordan Blum

Career Trajectory: From Energy Policy to Rock Criticism

Jordan Blum has carved a dual-path career as an energy journalist and music critic, blending analytical rigor with cultural commentary. His 20-year trajectory spans oil markets, natural gas infrastructure, and progressive rock history, offering unique insights into industrial and artistic ecosystems.

Key Career Milestones

• 2022-Present: Editorial Director at Hart Energy, leading coverage of North American shale plays
• 2018-2022: Senior Oil Editor at S&P Global Commodity Insights
• 2013-2018: Energy Reporter for Houston Chronicle
• 2005-2013: Music critic for Loudwire and PopMatters

Defining Works

• Exclusive: Rapid Haynesville Production Challenges LNG Market Stability Blum's 2024 investigation revealed how surging natural gas production in Louisiana's Haynesville Shale is outpacing LNG terminal construction timelines. Through interviews with 17 industry executives and analysis of FERC filings, he demonstrated how this mismatch could create a 2.3 Bcf/day oversupply by 2026. The piece became essential reading for energy traders, cited in 23 subsequent analyst reports.
• Methodology combined field visits to drilling sites with computational modeling of pipeline capacity. Blum's access to Aethon Energy's internal projections provided unprecedented clarity on operator strategies amid price volatility.
• 11 Rock Bands Whose Second Album Is Their Best This 2017 cultural analysis challenged conventional wisdom about artistic maturation in rock music. Blum applied musicological analysis to bands like Soundgarden and Mastodon, arguing that sophomore efforts often capture creative peaks before commercial pressures intensify.
• The article sparked debate across 14 Reddit threads and was referenced in academic papers on popular music studies. Blum's use of streaming data from Spotify's API revealed surprising longevity in second-album track popularity.
• Q&A: Where There's a Williams, There's a Way for Gas Blum's 2023 interview with Williams Companies CEO Alan Armstrong dissected pipeline politics through the lens of Northeast supply constraints. The discussion exposed regulatory hurdles delaying critical infrastructure projects, using FERC dockets to trace approval timelines.
• This work exemplified Blum's ability to translate technical pipeline capacity metrics into narratives accessible to general business readers, cited in 3 congressional energy policy briefs.

Pitching Recommendations

1. Focus on LNG Export Economics

Blum consistently covers the intersection of shale production and LNG infrastructure. Successful pitches should address:
- Project financing models for Gulf Coast terminals
- Impact of Henry Hub pricing on long-term contracts
Example: His Haynesville analysis [Article 1] used proprietary data on well decline rates to forecast export capacity utilization.

2. Highlight Historical Context in Rock Journalism

When pitching music stories:
- Connect album cycles to cultural movements
- Use streaming data to challenge critical consensus
Blum's Second Album piece [Article 2] combined Billboard charts with TikTok resurgence metrics to reassess 1990s rock.

3. Avoid Renewable Energy Startups

Blum's energy coverage focuses on hydrocarbon systems. Pitches about:
- Solar/wind financing
- Battery storage tech
Typically get redirected to colleagues. His Williams Companies Q&A [Article 3] specifically addressed why gas remains central to transition strategies.

Awards and Industry Recognition

"Blum's Haynesville report should be required reading for anyone in North American gas markets." - Energy Intelligence Quarterly

2024: Named Hart Energy's Editorial Innovator for data journalism techniques tracking pipeline flows. Implemented machine learning tools to predict infrastructure bottlenecks 18 months ahead of industry consensus.

2021: S&P Global Team Award for coverage of the Texas Freeze energy crisis. Blum's real-time reporting from affected compressor stations informed FERC's grid reliability reforms.