DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS OR DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY/ENGINEERING
At present I am Director of Technology and Engineering for a two year old start up exploration company and have been in this position since July 1, 2004. This is an exciting company to work for and I have the good fortune to be in a leadership role alongside the CEO and the President. Our prospects are both conventional and unconventional and include oil and gas. In assignments with previous companies my leadership abilities have been honed through lengthy experiences with the technical and operational aspects of the business as well as strategic planning, venture capital and conventional financing, and acquisition and divestiture activities. I have a BS and an MBA.
2004 - PRESENT
PRIVATELY HELD OIL & GAS EXPLORATION COMPANY
MANAGER OF TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING
This well funded start up company attracted me to work for them because of their exploration philosophy and well conceived prospect ideas. As Director of Technology and Engineering, I am in charge of a team of professional specialists in the various exploration disciplines with the responsibility of providing a stream of technically and economically sound prospects to our CEO and the board of directors. Based upon my recommendations, the company has acquired several hundred thousand acres of mineral leases containing serious exploration potential.
Since my tenure began in July, 2004 the company has been able to establish partnerships with significant oil and gas companies residing within the United States and Canada. At present, the company has 20 employees and part time consultants. We have drilled initial wells on two of our prospects and are scheduled to drill wells on several other prospects during 2006 and 2007.
2003 – 2004
PUBLICLY HELD OIL & GAS EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION COMPANY
CONSULTING PETROPHYSICAL ENGINEER
I was recruited by the Vice President of Exploration to aid in the evaluation and development of the company’s tight gas mineral leases. One of my duties included the creation of a petrophysical/petrographical model based upon electric logs, production logs, core, and production test data. Another was the creation of a formation stress profile model based upon the petrophysical model and neural net derived rock property data. These two models ultimately dictated parameter selection for multi-frac completion design. A final duty was to help establish reserve estimates by working closely with the company’s economic group and the third party engineering firm, Netherland, Sewall and Associates.
1996 - 2003
PRIVATELY HELD OIL & GAS EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION COMPANY
MANAGER OF PETROPHYSICS – SENIOR OPERATIONS ENGINEER
As MANAGER OF PETROPHYSICS and SENIOR OPERATIONS ENGINEER of this $300+ million private company I played a key role in establishing a production base of 70+ MMCFD while aggressively reducing finding costs. Our success was mainly in unconventional style gas reservoirs.
I was recruited by the president of the company to build and organize the technical department, to screen outside deals and do petrophysics and reserve evaluation of internally generated projects. In reporting to the vice president of operations who was with the company for over 20 years, my mandate was twofold: 1) to assess the reserve, economic and risk potential of domestic and international oil & gas prospects through the use of log and test data, and 2) to design, coordinate and implement activities necessary to drill, evaluate and complete wells.
The primary incentives to accept this position were: 1) getting in on the ground floor of a strongly funded private company, 2) substantial exposure to international and domestic deep gas projects as well as unconventional style gas projects, 3) the opportunity to work for and learn from a self made multi-billionaire who is one of the wealthiest people in the world. These incentives came to fruition and worked out very well for me in this company of 42 employees. I was one of only two people who had decision-making responsibilities for both domestic and international activities.
Production and revenues grew rapidly after November 2001 due to new discoveries but finding costs were above the industry average (actual numbers cannot be given due to the private status of the company). I was very vocal on this subject and aggressive in implementing cost containment procedures and eliminating low to moderate-potential higher risk prospects. My estimate of what these efforts SAVED the company is in excess of $50,000,000 over 9 years. Savings of this magnitude combined with my work in well test evaluation, project management, field operations, communications and contract negotiations helped productivity to consistently increase within the company.
The results I presented at the end of each year produced excellent personal reviews with commensurate increases in compensation. During my January 2001 review I was highly complimented and designated as a “FRANCHISE” employee. In December of 2001 the company gave me a 50% increase in my “pay for performance” year-end bonus.
Since the owner was trying to sell the company, I sought a new challenge elsewhere.
1992 - 1996
PRIVATELY HELD OILFIELD ACQUISITION & EXPLOITATION LLC
GENERAL MANAGER
This was a STARTUP limited liability company created by two of us with the intent of buying several marginal oil fields, streamlining their operations, and expanding production while oil prices were low then selling them for a premium as prices increased. Each of us made an initial investment of $100,000.
After completing our business plan and having our attorneys finalize the investor Subscription Agreement in mid 1993 I proceeded to raise $1,000,000 through private investors and bank notes. Subsequently I NEGOTIATED the 100% purchase of one oil field in California and a 50% purchase of one in Colorado for a combined price of $750,000.
We immediately raised the production in our California field from 55 bopd to 120 bopd and increased production in our Colorado field from 45 bopd to 78 bopd. However, over the next year additional unexpected capital expenditures of $170,000 tightened our already razor thin margins. Although monthly operating expenses had been reduced as planned the net per barrel averaged between $3 and $5 over the time we owned the fields due to low market prices. The California field was sold two years later for a 50% premium. Ultimately a business decision was made to divest the Colorado field for a loss when oil was only $9.50 with no increase in sight.
Although we felt our business strategy was solid and that it contained the required vision and creativity to be successful our timing turned out to be wrong. This was evidenced by the continued pattern of declining oil prices during the mid-1990’s. I made the decision to leave the company when my current employer offered me the same challenges along with good funding.
While seeking opportunities that fit our business plan, I was very fortunate to evaluate oil and gas possibilities within MAINLAND CHINA. Although our research conclusively kept us from pursuing anything within the country, I developed and maintain to this day contacts that are at the very highest levels of business and government within China.
1990 – 1992
PUBLIC CANADIAN OIL & GAS EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION COMPANY
MANAGER OF PETROPHYSICS & ENGINEERING – UNITED STATES
The Vice President of Technology of the firm heavily recruited me to manage the engineering part of their U.S. operation after I had been a consultant for them during the previous seven years. As a consultant I helped lead a team looking for bypass pay through the integration of log and test analysis with petrography, geophysics, geochemistry, hydrodynamics, reservoir engineering and geology for more complete evaluation. The upside potential and personal challenge of becoming an employee for a company that was very successful in Canada appealed to me especially in view of the difficult industry environment prevalent at that time.
During these two years I was part of a technical/business team which sought out horizontal drilling opportunities, got the wells drilled and evaluated the results. This was such a high visibility operation that we reported directly to the president of the company. Within this time period we drilled 15 horizontal wells in the Bakken Shale of North Dakota and Montana, 4 wells in the Mancos Shale of the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and participated in 6 wells in the Austin Chalk play of south central Texas. The commercial results of the Bakken and Austin Chalk endeavors were marginal at best while the Mancos was highly successful.
The office was comprised of 7 professionals and 4 technical support people with an annual budget of approximately $40,000,000 and I reported directly to the Vice President of Technology. In addition to my duties in the U.S. office I also spent large amounts of time working on a wide variety of Canadian projects for the parent company which employed over 400 people and had an annual budget approaching $500,000,000.
Because of organizational changes within the parent company during 1992 it was decided that the U.S. office would be closed. The company offered me a move to Calgary with a PROMOTION to divisional manager. I graciously refused the offer because the ramifications of the ongoing organizational changes were too difficult to predict and I did not want to get caught up in a political battleground.
1981 – 1990
PERSONALLY FUNDED OIL & GAS EXPLORATION STARTUP
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Operating on an initial budget of $20,000 in PERSONAL funds, I developed this oil & gas startup corporation. My objective was to keep the company small and work on two endeavors:
1) Develop, fund and drill oil and gas prospects.
2) Provide petrophysical and engineering services to the industry.
Under my stewardship gross revenues from both operations enjoyed an average annual growth rate of 20% while costs steadily declined an average of 14% per year for each year of active operation.
By leveraging $3,000,000 from 4 investors and a banking institution I developed, drilled and discovered an extension of a major field. With the help of my attorneys and a key investor I was instrumental in constructing a natural gas pipeline system as well as negotiating the terms of oil and gas purchase agreements. As a result of the success of this project, we developed several other prospects and leased thousands of federal, state and fee acres throughout the region. Ultimately we ended up farming these prospects out due to severely decreasing oil and gas prices and an increasingly uncertain and risky industry environment.
Concurrently, by teaming up with Logmate Services Inc and D & S Petrophysical out of Calgary, we created a highly regarded petrophysical consulting group that included the following among our clients: Texaco, Mobil, Pennzoil, Amerada Hess, Canadian Hunter, Atlantic Richfield, SOHIO, Snyder Oil and CENEX. Not only did our group provide petrophysical and engineering services but we also wrote code and developed our own computer programs for internal use as well as for license.
In order to insure profitability in both operations during the uncertain industry environment of the 1980’s, we implemented cost containment and ultimately cost reduction programs a big part of which was the use of consultants instead of employees. At its peak, the exploration and drilling operation had 3 full-time employees in addition to several part-time consultants and the consulting operation also had 3 full-time employees. The combined annual budget of both operations at their height was $2,500,000. I ceased operations in an industry with an atmosphere of escalating uncertainty in order to go to work for a Canadian company.
1971 – 1981
SCHLUMBERGER WELL SERVICES
DIVISION MANAGER
Over this ten year period I held a series of progressively MORE RESPONSIBLE positions: 1) field engineer, 2) petrophysical evaluation specialist, 3) account manager, 4) district manager, and 5) division manager. After completing a four-year field engineering training program, which placed heavy emphasis on engineering, management, sales/marketing and operations I succeeded in becoming the youngest district manager in the history of the company up until that time.
During my last assignment I carried on a dual role as manager of the largest land district in North America and division manager of an area that included my district as well as three others. My district had an annual operating budget of $4,000,000 for 78 employees and gross revenues of $18,000,000 while my division had an annual operating budget of $8,000,000 for 120 employees and gross revenues of $34,000,000.
In 1980 corporate management informed me that I had been selected as one of five candidates whom they felt had the qualifications to become a future PRESIDENT of the company. This selection came shortly after the visits to my district by the then chief executive officer and chairman of the board, Jean Riboud, and his vice president of world operations, Euan Baird.
EDUCATION:
MBA, University of Colorado
BS Aerospace Engineering, University of Colorado
PERSONAL:
Married, 2 children
6’1”, 190 lbs. |
