Mr. Zahniser-Word is an expert in corporate finance, economics, and regulatory matters across the natural gas, oil, and electricity industries.

He specializes in advising energy industry clients on complex litigation, arbitration, and regulatory proceedings, often applying his finance expertise to estimate commercial damages and evaluate long-term contracts. Mr. Zahniser-Word is involved in economic analyses across the industry segments. He has performed financial analyses of international oil and gas exploration and production projects in order to value assets and determine contractually defined net profits.

Relating to oil and gas midstream operations, Mr. Zahniser-Word has estimated damages for breach of contract claims for natural gas pipeline transportation and processing agreements as well as long-term purchase and sale agreements for natural gas and natural gas liquids. He has also evaluated the economics of petroleum refineries as part of valuing the assets and consulting on appropriate regulatory policies. Mr. Zahniser-Word also has experience reviewing the prudence of major electric generating station investments and economically analyzing the long-term contracts relating to those generating assets, such as power purchase agreements and heat rate call options.

Before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Mr. Zahniser-Word has filed testimony quantifying economic damages to a provider of refined petroleum product storage services. He worked as a consulting expert in litigation and regulatory proceedings in both state and federal jurisdictions, as well as international arbitration proceedings. He has also consulted on M&A due diligence matters and strategic planning for regulatory business models on behalf of utility clients.

Practices
Education

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
MBA in Economics, Finance, and Strategic Management

Duke University
BS in Economics