CURRICULUM VITAE OF
SENIOR AMMONITE CONSULTANTS

G. Warfield Hobbs IV
Ammonite Founder and Managing Partner

*Geology*Economics*Energy Minerals*Litigation*Competitive Intelligence*

     G. Warfield "Skip" Hobbs is an AAPG Certified Petroleum Geologist and Registered Professional Geologist (Florida and Pennsylvania) with 37 years exploration and development experience in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Central Asia and the Far East. He is a specialist in international petroleum and mineral economics, petroleum business development, heavy oil and tar sands, coalbed methane, regional geological studies, prospect evaluation, oil and gas litigation, due diligence, and company appraisals. Mr. Hobbs is the founder and Managing Partner of Ammonite Resources Company, an international petroleum consulting firm that is headquartered in New Canaan, Connecticut, and has associate offices in Houston, Shreveport, New Orleans, Denver, Calgary, the United Kingdom and Argentina.  Hobbs holds a B.Sc. degree in Geology from Yale College, and an M.Sc. degree in Petroleum Geology from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, University of London.  Prior to founding the Ammonite Corporation in 1980, and Ammonite Resources in 1982, Mr. Hobbs was employed by Amerada Hess Corporation, International Division, New York from 1977-1980; and by Texaco, Inc. in Ecuador, Great Britain, Indonesia and Portugal from 1970-1977.

     Skip Hobbs is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and was president of the AAPG Division of Professional Affairs in 2000-2001. He was the 1993-1995 national Secretary of the 31,000 member AAPG.  Hobbs is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the American Geological Institute, which represents 120,000 geoscientists in 44 member societies. He is a past-president of the Eastern Section of the AAPG, and of the former Petroleum Exploration Society of New York. In 2005 he was presented with the Honorary Membership Award of the AAPG.  From 1982-1989 Hobbs was on the Board of Directors of the Sierra Madre Foundation for Geological Research, an organization formerly sponsored by Yale, Harvard and Cornell Universities. 1n 2002 he was elected to the Board of the Burgess Shale Geoscience Foundation in Field, British Columbia. Hobbs is also a trustee of the New Canaan Nature Center, a not-for-profit organization that provides educational naturalist and environmental awareness programs to over 100 primary and middle schools in Fairfield County, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. He writes and lectures regularly on domestic and international petroleum and energy issues. 

 

Robert O. Winkler
Chief Engineer
(Alton, New Hampshire)
*Project Planning*Reservoir Engineering*Reserves Management*Economics*

   Bob Winkler is a Petroleum Engineer with over 34 years of experience in engineering, production operations, management and planning, in the United States and overseas. Mr. Winkler is a specialist in oil and gas reserve evaluation, reservoir performance analysis, gas storage, waterfloods, and reserves management systems. He holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bucknell University, and an M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. Prior to becoming a consultant in 1986, Mr. Winkler was employed for 21 years by Exxon Corporation, serving in such capacities as North Sea Technical Manager in London, 1983-1986; District Manager, Lafayette, Louisiana 1980-1983; North Sea Reservoir Engineering Manager, London 1977-1980; Manager of Australian Engineering, Sydney, 1972-1977; and various engineering assignments in California and Alaska from 1965-1972. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME.

 

Kevin B. Hill
Chief Geophysicist
(Shreveport, Louisiana)
*Exploration Geophysics and Geology*Seismic Stratigraphy*Basin Analysis*
3-D Seismic Survey Design, Acquisition, Processing and Interpretation*

   Kevin Hill is a geophysical consultant with more than 22 years of broad Gulf Coast and some international experience in exploration geophysics and geology. He is president of Hill Geophysical Consulting in Shreveport, Louisiana. Mr. Hill specializes in integrating state-of-the-art geophysical technologies with geology, and has designed and interpreted numerous 2-D and 3-D seismic surveys in the Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary plays of the Gulf Coast basins in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama. His international work includes interpretation of over 2,000 km. of seismic in a Latin American offshore Tertiary basin. Kevin was instrumental in the original design of the PC based seismic workstation software called Kingdom 2d/3d-Pak. He still helps design upgrades of this software which is recognized as the industry leader in PC seismic software, and teaches courses that use the Seismic Micro-Technology, Inc. Kingdom software at schools around the world. Hill received a BS-Professional Degree in Geology in 1997 from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA., where he was president of Sigma Gamma Epsilon, and received the H.V. Howe award for outstanding Geology graduate. Prior to becoming a consultant in 1987, he worked as Senior Exploration Geophysicist for Sonat Exploration in Shreveport, LA from 1985-1987; as Regional Exploration Geophysicist for Forest Oil Corporation in Lafayette, LA and Jackson MS from 1981-1985; and as a Senior Geophysicist for Cities Service Company in Tulsa, OK and Jackson, MS from 1977-1981. Hill has authored and presented numerous technical papers at Gulf Coast professional society meetings. He is a member of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Shreveport Geological Society, Chaine des Rotisseurs, L'Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Degustateurs, and Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin.

 

Gregory J. Moroney
Senior Consultant – Finance

(Greenwich, Connecticut)

     Mr. Moroney has more than 25 years experience as an energy finance specialist throughout North and South America. He provides his clients with extensive experience in raising capital for acquisitions and project developments from private sources as well as public capital markets, multilateral agencies (IFC, OPIC) and export credit agencies.

     Mr. Moroney held senior positions at Deutsche Bank Securities from 1993 to 2002. He established and supervised a $250 million mezzanine finance program for the junior oil and gas sector. He also led and supervised teams that raised more than $10 billion of funding for upstream, downstream and pipeline projects throughout North and South America. Several of the transactions were awarded "Deal of the Year" by industry magazines including Project Finance International and Infrastructure Finance. 

     Mr. Moroney worked for Citibank, N.A. and affiliates from 1975 to 1993 in New York, Toronto and Calgary. During this period he was designated both a "Senior Banker" and a "Senior Credit Officer".

     Mr. Moroney is a Director of Breitburn Energy Partners L.P. (public) and Breitburn Energy Company LP (private), both Los Angeles-based affiliates of Provident Energy Trust, Calgary. He has dual citizenship (USA and Canada) and is a member of the Energy Forum at the Stern School/NYU. In addition to holding a BA from Yale University, Mr. Moroney has attended numerous professional training programs covering Advanced Financial Accounting, Petroleum Engineering, M&A Evaluations and Transformational Leadership.

 

Thomas E. O'Connor
International Petroleum Management Advisor
(Washington, DC)
*Strategic Planning and Plan Implementation*Government Policy Advice*International Financing and Guarantees*

   Tom O'Connor is an AAPG Certified Petroleum Geologist with broad experience in international petroleum management, economics, finance and government petroleum policy. His seventeen years with Amoco included two years in Utrecht, The Netherlands; five years in London and five years in Cairo, Egypt where he served as Chief Geologist for the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO). Following a transfer to Houston, he was Geologic Manger of Africa and the Middle East. In 1980 be came Aminoil's Vice President for International until its sale to Phillips Petroleum in 1984 at which time he joined the World Bank in Washington DC as the Principal Petroleum Engineer. In this capacity he helped member Governments of the World Bank develop effective petroleum industry policies and programs for increasing the level of international petroleum investment in these countries through policy changes, managing petroleum exploration promotions, financing packages and the development of effective petroleum policy, laws and regulations. His areas of principal geographic interest were Latin America, sub Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, Eastern Europe, the Former Soviet Union and South Asia. Following his retirement from the Bank at the end of 1998, he has served as advisor to several international oil and service companies and is presently the petroleum advisor to the Prime Minister of Sao Tome. He received a BSc in Geology from Stanford University and a Masters in Geology from the University of Colorado (Boulder). He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Geological Society of America and the Houston Geological Society. Tom has published numerous papers and has been invited to speak in a wide range of international scientific academic and industrial conferences and forums, including addressing the National Association of Royalty Owners three times, once as Keynote Speaker. He has lectured at the Yale School of Management, the University of Colorado's School of Economics and the George Washington School of International Affairs on several occasions. He has organized and chaired a number of scientific panels with the AAPG as well as other scientific and industrial organizations. He is currently one of the co-editors, as well as an author in the AAPG's forthcoming book, International Exploration and Production Ventures: A Business Perspective that will be published in the summer of 2000.

 

Robert K. Merrill, Ph.D., P. Geol.
Senior Exploration Advisor
(Houston, TX)
Worldwide Play and Prospect Assessment, Risk Assessment, Portfolio Optimization

     Robert Merrill is a geologist who has worked over thirty years in worldwide petroleum exploration and production.  He is an experienced prospect generator and evaluator, and exploration manager. His expertise includes both conventional and unconventional clastic reservoirs, including fractured reservoirs and tight gas sands, as well as carbonates.  In his various staff and exploration positions he has mapped from the reservoir to regional, multi-basin scales. Areas of expertise include the Rockies, West Texas Permian Basin, the Midcontinent, Gulf Coast onshore and offshore, and many international areas, including Central and Southeast Asia, Australia, the North Sea, and Latin America. Dr. Merrill is experienced in applying probabilistic methods to prospect evaluation and reserves estimation, and using this information for comprehensive portfolio management.  Additionally, he has been involved with evaluating and optimizing geological and geophysical workflow to reduce cycle time from the origination of an idea to prospect drilling.  Bob has taught courses on a range of subjects including structural geology, basin analysis and plate tectonics and geology for engineers.

     Prior to becoming a consultant in 2005 and forming Catheart Energy, Inc., Dr. Merrill worked for the Samson Companies, Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was Technical Manager of Geology  from 2000-2002, and then Exploration Manager of Samson International from 2002-2005. From 1989-2000, Bob was employed by the Unocal Corporation, lastly as Chief Geologist 1997-2000 of Unocal’s Spirit Energy Division in Sugarland, Texas. As Chief Geologist of Spirit Energy he was responsible for quality assurance for a $600 million capital budget for the Deep Water Gulf of Mexico, Shelf and Onshore Gulf of Mexico and the Permian Basin.  Prior to joining Unocal, Bob worked as an exploration geologist for the Cities Service Oil and Gas Corp. and then OXY USA, Inc. between 1974 -1989 in the Rockies, Permian Basin, and Midcontinent.  He began his career in 1969 working as a stratigrapher for the American Stratigraphic Company, where he logged well cuttings and cores.

     Dr. Merrill has a PhD and MS in Geology from Arizona State University and a BA in Geology from Colby College.  He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, a Chartered Geologist with the Geological Society, and has served on committees for the American Geological Institute.  Bob has served as Secretary and President of the American Institute of Professional Geologists and is an active member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, where he co-edited the Giant Fields of the Decade 1990 – 2000 book and edited Source and Migration: Processes and Techniques for Evaluation.  Other publications include papers on risk analysis; deep, over-pressured gas in the Green River Basin; and origin and migration of oils, Wyoming/Utah/Idaho Overthrust belt.  He was the Technical Coordinator for the 2006 AAPG National Convention in Houston.

 

Mary Van Der Loop
Senior Exploration Advisor
(Flatonia, Texas)
Prospect and play analysis * Formation Evaluation
* Permian Basin * Midcontinent * Gulf Coast

     Mary Van Der Loop is an AAPG Certified Petroleum Geologist with 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry.   She is owner of Sanctuary Oaks Consultants, Inc., a geological consulting firm located in Flatonia, Texas.   Mary holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a Master’s Degree in Geology from the University of Texas at Arlington. She has a track record of finding oil and gas through both development and exploratory projects, and has been involved in exploratory prospect and play development for most of her career.

     Mary’s experience includes Texaco, Monsanto (District Geologist 1981-1986), BHP, Energy Exploration Management Group, ARCO (Frontiers Exploration Team), Vastar and BP Amoco,  in a variety of producing areas including the Permian Basin, Oklahoma, Central and South Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico Shelf.   Her areas of specialization include carbonate reservoirs, deepwater detrital carbonates, tight gas reservoirs, deep water sand reservoirs, fluvial-deltaic sands, chert detrital reservoirs, and paleostructural analysis and basement structural involvement in oil and gas fields.  Other areas of expertise are horizontal drilling, old electric log analysis, acquisition/divestiture evaluations, drilling program planning and management, expert witness, and extensive regional studies through utilization and integration of large well databases.    Mary’s publications include topics in deepwater carbonates, tight gas sands, and analysis of the potential of the United States’ frontier exploration provinces.

     Mary is a Past President of the West Texas Geological Society and recipient of its Dedicated Service Award, Past President and Honorary Life member of the Permian Basin Section SEPM.  She is a   Member of American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Houston Geological Society, Oklahoma City Geological Society, and Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists.

 

R. Michael Lloyd, Ph.D.
(Houston, TX)
*Geology and Geophysics*Carbonates*Geochemistry

   Dr. Michael Lloyd is a Petroleum Geologist with over 40 years of experience in sedimentological and geochemical research, exploration and development in the Gulf Coast, West Texas, Anadarko, Michigan, Illinois, Williston, Alberta and Alaskan basins in the United States and Canada, and has evaluated prospects in a number of overseas countries. He received a B.S. Degree in Geology in 1951 and a M.S. Degree in Geology in 1953 from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. Degree in Geology and Biochemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1960. Dr. Lloyd was employed by the Shell Oil Company 1954-73, as a research geologist and rose to Supervisor of Chemical Geology Research at Shell Development Company, Houston, Texas; and 1973-77, as Senior Staff Exploration Geologist, Shell Oil Company Alaskan Division. During 1977-78 he was Senior Consulting Geologist, Sneider & Meckel Associates, Houston. Since 1978, Mike Lloyd has been an independent consultant and instructor of courses in subsurface geology, geochemistry and carbonate exploration for major oil companies. He is a widely published expert on carbonate rocks, and is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

 

Norman F. Ross
(Houston, Texas)
*Geophysics and Geology*Deep Gulf of Mexico and International*

   Mr. Ross is a highly skilled explorationist with 38 years of domestic and international experience. He has strong skills in seismic interpretation using the Landmark seismic workstation using both 2D and 3D data. Mr. Ross holds a B.S. Degree in Geology and Geophysics from the University of Oklahoma. He has worked with UNOCAL, Mobil, Superior, Tesoro and Chevron in their Exploration and Production Departments. Prior to becoming a consultant with Ammonite, he served as a consultant for British-Borneo preparing regional studies and prospect development in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. These studies were in the Mississippi Fan Fold Belt and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico in preparation for OCS Sale 181 scheduled for the end of 2001. From 1998-1996 he was Senior Geophysical Advisor for UNOCAL with his last assignment working in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. From 1992 to 1996 he was a consultant for Ammonite where he served as Geophysical Manager. He also had his own consulting company in Houston. Projects worked on during this period were in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Oman, Bangladesh and onshore Gulf of Mexico. From 1983 to 1992 he worked for the Mobil Corporation in their Exploration and Development departments on projects in Russia and the Texas/Oklahoma onshore areas. From 1977 to 1983 he was Geophysical Manager for Tesoro Petroleum Company's domestic and foreign activities. Mr. Ross' first 15 years in the oil industry was with the Chevron companies working domestic and international, including four years in Indonesia (Sumatra) with Caltex. He has direct international experience in Latin America, the Former Soviet Union, Indonesia, Middle East, North Sea and Bangladesh. Prior to leaving Mobil, he worked on a one-year special project in Western Siberia. Ross has worked in many domestic areas including the last four years in the Deepwater Play of the Gulf of Mexico where he identified prospects in turbidite sequences associated with mini-basins. Also, Ross is skilled in sub-salt exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. Ross is a specialist in overall exploration management and operations, and in reviewing geophysical and geological technical data for the evaluation of exploration projects. His technical skills include seismic interpretation-both 2D and 3D, seismic acquisition (2-D and 3D) and seismic processing methods, borehole geophysics (VSP's). Professional affiliations include SEG, AAPG, and HGS.

 

David H. Bodecott
(Penrith, Cumbria, England)
*Geology*Geophysics*

   Mr. Bodecott is a Consulting Petroleum Geologist and Geophysicist with over 25 years experience in the petroleum industry. He received a B.Sc. (Honours) in Geology from the University of Hull in 1973, and an M.Sc. in Petroleum Geology in 1974 from the Imperial College, London. Mr. Bodecott began his career as a Geologist with Arco Oil Producing Inc. in London from 1974 -75. Employed by the Gulf Oil Corporation from 1975-81, he worked as a Geologist, then Senior Geologist, while living in Gabon, Houston and London, with temporary assignments to Zaire, Indonesia, and Norway. Mr. Bodecott became an Independent Consultant in Global Petroleum Geology and Seismic Interpretation in 1981, and has specialized in: regional mapping and prospect evaluation; farmout acreage acquisition and relinquishment recommendations; and active operations in Europe, North and West Africa, Middle East and Southeast Asia. Professional affiliations include: Active Member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Member of the Institute of Petroleum, and Fellow of the Geological Society of London.

 

J. Read Holland, PhD.
(Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
*Coalbed Methane*Metallurgy*Environmental Studies*

   Dr. Read Holland is President of J.R. Holland & Associates, Inc., Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and a Senior Associate of Ammonite. He is a specialist in coalbed methane research and development, and environmental geology and engineering. Dr. Holland has over thirty years experience in energy and minerals engineering, and was a pioneer in the early 1980's in coalbed methane technology. He received a B.Sc. Degree in Metallurgical Engineering, University of Kentucky in 1953, a Masters Degree in Physical Metallurgy from Sheffield University, England in 1954, as a Fulbright Scholar, and a Doctorate in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1962. Dr. Holland served as Director of the School of Mines and Energy Development (SOMED), University of Alabama from 1981-1988, and left this dean's level position to start an independent consulting business in 1989. Under Dr. Holland's technical leadership, the School of Mines and Energy Development gained wide recognition for its research and development programs in energy and natural resources. The coalbed methane R&D efforts at SOMED have been recognized as providing a vital stimulus for the growth of the coalbed methane industry in Alabama. Dr. Holland personally directed these efforts and is known as one of the leaders in the methane industry. Other significant programs developed at SOMED under Dr. Holland were R&D on oil shale, tar sands, coal cleaning, and liquefied natural gas use in diesel engines. Prior to joining the University of Alabama, Dr. Holland was the Manager, Nuclear Reactor Materials Research, at Westinghouse Research Laboratories, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1974-1981; and from 1961-1974 was on the research staff of Sandia Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Professional affiliations include: American Society for Metals; American Nuclear Society; AIME; American Association for the Advancement of Science; and Alabama Academy of Science.


 

Michael G. Mackenzie, Ph.D.
(New Orleans, Louisiana)
*Geology*Economics*Estate Valuations*

   Dr. Mackenzie is a Petroleum Geologist with more than 30 years experience in exploration and development drilling in U.S. Gulf Coast onshore and offshore oil and gas fields. He is a specialist in subsurface mapping and reserves estimation of Louisiana prospects. Dr. Mackenzie received a B.S. degree in Geology from Yale University in 1960, a M.S. in Geology from New York University in 1962, and a Ph.D. in Geology from Tulane University in 1975. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Dr. Mackenzie served as expert geologist for several exploration companies from 1972 through 1984. From 1962 to 1972, he was a staff geologist first for Humble Oil and Refining Company in Corpus Christi, Texas, and then for Mobil Oil Corporation in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. Mackenzie is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists. His publications include scientific studies of the offshore geology of the northeast United States and the Gulf Coast.

 

W. Richard Moore, Ph.D.
(Crawford, Colorado)
*Geology*Geophysics*Exploration Management*

   Dr. Moore is an AAPG Certified Petroleum Geologist with over 27 years domestic and international experience in exploration petroleum geology. Resident in Crawford, Colorado, he is a specialist in prospect origination and evaluation, and has generated, evaluated, and managed exploration programs throughout the United States and Canada. Dr. Moore has also evaluated coalbed methane projects throughout the Rocky Mountain basins and in South Wales. He is the author of numerous technical articles on petroleum geology in the Rocky Mountains. Dick Moore received a Geological Engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines in 1966, an M.Sc. in Oceanography at Texas A&M University in 1968, and a Doctorate in Geology from Texas A&M in 1970. Prior to becoming an independent geologist in 1980, Dr. Moore was employed as Exploration Geologist with Cities Service Oil Company from 1970-74; Exploration Manager with General Crude Oil Company from 1974-1978; and as an Assistant Professor of Geology at the Colorado School of Mines from 1978-80. He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Rocky Mountain Association of Petroleum Geologists, Wyoming Geological Association, and Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists.

 

David M. Abbott, Jr.
(Denver, Colorado)
*Minerals, Coal and Petroleum Geology*Resources and Reserves Definitions and Delineation*Natural Resources Securities Disclosures*Litigation*Professional Ethics*

   David M. Abbott, Jr., is an AIPG Certified Professional Geologist, an AAPG Certified Petroleum Geologist, a Geological Society Chartered Geologist, and a licensed Professional Geologist in Wyoming. He spent 21 years as a geologist for the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission reviewing natural resource disclosure issues and investigating the natural resource aspects of securities frauds. His due diligence experience is worldwide and covers all types of mineral and petroleum deposits. Since becoming a consultant in 1996, Abbott has continued specializing in reserve audits and litigation support. He has extensive experience as an expert witness. David assisted in drafting the SEC disclosure standards and the mineral reserve and mineral resource definitions of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, & Exploration. Abbott holds an A.B. honors degree in Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College and an MS in Geology from the Colorado School of Mines. His professional society memberships include: Fellow of the Geological Society (London); the Society of Economic Geologists; the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy; the Geological Society of America; the American Association of Petroleum Geologists; the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration; the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America; the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists; and the Denver Regional Exploration Geologists Society. He received the Martin Van Couvering Memorial Award from AIPG in 1998 for his service to AIPG, particularly in the area of professional ethics. Abbott has written a number of papers on the interaction between geology and the securities laws, on mineral reserve and mineral resource definitions and their application to various types of deposits, and on geologic professional ethics and practices. He compiles a monthly column titled "Professional Ethics & Practice" for the American Institute of Professional Geologists' publication The Professional Geologist.

 

Jeffrey R. Levine, Ph.D.
Senior Consultant - Unconventional Gas Resources
(Richardson, Texas)
CBM & Shale gas reservoirs, exploration & reservoir characterization, special core and log analysis, database design

   Jeff Levine is a consultant geologist, specializing in exploration and evaluation of coal gas (CBM) and shale gas reservoirs. His main focus is on the influence of organic petrology on reservoir characteristics, core and log analysis, database design, reservoir characterization and exploration. Jeff holds degrees in geology from the University of Michigan (B.S., 1974) and Penn State (M.S., 1981 and Ph.D. 1983).

   Jeff began his professional career in 1974 at the United States Bureau of Mines in Pittsburgh, which was conducting pioneering R&D work on CBM as a mining hazard and as a potential energy resource. While working at the Bureau, he participated in development of the Bureau of Mines “Direct Method” for estimating the in situ gas content of coal, as well as studies of coal cleat, CBM assessments in the Pennsylvania Anthracite region, San Juan, and Raton basins, among other projects. After leaving the Bureau, Jeff pursued graduate studies at Penn State, with a major emphasis in coal geology, structural geology, and tectonics. After completing a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at McGill University in Montréal (Canada), he returned to R&D work on CBM at the U. of Alabama School of Mines and Energy Development, from 1985-1992.

   In the ensuing years, Dr. Levine has been employed in the petroleum industry, both as an employee and as consultant, working for GeoMet Operating Company (Bessemer, Alabama; 1996 to 2000, and CDX Gas (Dallas, TX; 2000 to 2002) . Over the course of his career, he has worked in most of the coal and shale basins in the United States and Canada, as well as projects overseas, in the United Kingdom, Poland, China, Australia, and Colombia. Dr. Levine has taught industry short courses focusing on CBM and shale gas reservoirs at many locations around the world, and has authored many technical papers and talks. He has also provided expert witness testimony and reports relating to CBM mineral ownership.

    Dr. Levine has served as President and Editor of The Society for Organic Petrology, and is active in the Energy Minerals Division of AAPG, currently serving as Southwestern Section representative..

 

Steven Schamel, Ph.D.
Senior Exploration Advisor
(Salt Lake City, UT)
*Unconventional gas and oil resources*Worldwide play and prospect assessment*

     For 26 years Dr. Schamel has been carrying out and/or supervising research projects in support of oil and natural gas exploration and exploitation in the Americas, southern Europe, North Africa, the South Atlantic shelf margin, and the Former Soviet Union. These projects have been supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, international and domestic petroleum companies, large and small, and the National Science Foundation. Areas of specific technical competence include basin, structural and petroleum systems analysis; reservoir characterization; organic geochemistry; and enhanced recovery methods. In recent years his work has focused on the identification and development of unconventional gas and oil resources, principally in California, the Rocky Mountains and western New York State.

     Schamel is presently Principal of GeoX Consulting Inc in Salt Lake City, UT. Until 2004 he was also Research Professor and Associate Director of the Petroleum Research Center, University of Utah. He had been Senior Associate Director of the Earth Sciences & Resources Institute at the University of South Carolina prior to 1995. He holds degrees from Franklin and Marshall College (A.B.) and Yale University (PhD). He is the author of numerous papers related to petroleum geology and reservoir characterization, and he is a coauthor of the recently published Thrustbelts: Structural Architecture, Thermal Regimes, and Petroleum Systems. Active memberships include the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, and the Utah Geological Association. He is presently the President-elect of the AAPG Rocky Mountain Section, and is a recent Executive Board Chair of the SPE Salt Lake Petroleum Section. In 2003, he organized the SPE-ATW Coalbed Gas Resources of Utah. Utah Professional Geologist 5366337-2250.

 

Lesli J. Wood, Ph.D.
Senior Consultant
(Austin, Texas)
*Integrated Depositional Sequence Analysis * Seismic Stratigraphy

     Lesli Wood is a clastic sedimentologist and sequence stratigrapher specializing in the study of onshore and offshore land-margin areas with emphasis on the character, development of and processes active in fluvial/deltaic and deep marine depositional systems. Applied experience in basin analysis, hydrocarbon systems study and risk analysis in both passive and tectonically active margins. Experience in biostratigraphy of the later Tertiary. Familiar with and have used TEMIS 2D and 3D, and BasinMod, as well as fault seal analysis programs and general geochemical analysis of source rocks, maturation timing and migration frameworks.

     Dr. Wood, is currently a Research Scientist and Lecturer with the John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences, Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Prior to her current position, she worked for six years in the oil and gas industry, first with the research division of ARCO, and then with Amoco Production Company. Her initial assignment was to their worldwide exploration organization, then with the Amoco E&P Technology Division, researching the development and interpretation of seismic attribute technologies, and as the lead geologist of Amoco's Sequence Stratigraphy Group. Dr Wood's work over the past 12 years has focused on projects in Trinidad, Venezuela, Argentina, Egypt, Brazil and the U.S. Her scientific interests are in applied sequence stratigraphy, petroleum basin analysis, seismic attribute interpretation and risk evaluation. Her current research at UT includes industry-sponsored study of the morphology and processes in deep marine depositional margins, gas hydrate development and distribution, quantitative seismic geomorphology, shale diapirism, and clastic reservoir architecture. Dr. Wood received a B.S. in Geology from Arkansas Tech University, an M.S. in Geology from the University of Arkansas, and received her Ph.D. in Earth Resources from Colorado State University.

     She is a member of the Geological Society of America; American Geophysical Union; American Association of Petroleum Geologists (periodic AAPG Bulletin and Spec. Pub. reviewer); SEPM (periodic Journal of Sedimentary Research reviewer), and the Austin Geological Society (2000-2003 Delegate to the AAPG House). Dr. Wood was awarded the AAPG 2001 J.C. "Cam" Sproule Award for best paper by an author under the age of 35 for her paper titled "Chronostratigraphy and Tectonostratigraphy of the Columbus Basin, eastern offshore Trinidad" published in the December 2000 Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

 

Susan R. Eaton, P. Geol., P. Geoph., M.Sc.. B.J. Hon.
Senior Exploration Advisor
Calgary, Alberta
*Geology & Geophysics* Project management of seismic and drilling operations *North America & International * Corporate acquisitions and due diligence
* Journalist specializing in natural resources, energy and the environment*

     Susan Eaton is an exploration manager with twenty-one years of progressive and successful experience in the oil and gas industry. Her exploration and development expertise spans the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, the Canadian Frontier (East Coast Offshore and the N.W.T.) and, internationally, the North Sea, Eastern Europe, Russia and Latin America. She is registered as both a professional geologist and a professional geophysicist with APEGGA (the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta). Susan holds a B.Sc. Honours degree in Geology and Biology (1980) from Dalhousie University, a M.Sc. degree in Petroleum Geology (1988, Geophysics specialization) from Imperial College, University of London, and a B.J. Honours degree in journalism (1987) from Carleton University.

     Residing in Calgary, Alberta, Susan manages SR ECO Consultants Inc., an energy consulting firm which she established in 1999. Prior to founding SR ECO, Susan held the position of Vice-President of Exploration for K2 Energy Inc., a publicly-traded E&P company focusing on foothills exploration in northern Montana. Susan also held the position of Vice-President with Genoil Inc., a publicly-traded start-up company whose exploration efforts were situated in the Baltic Sea (offshore Poland) and in the onshore and offshore of the Republic of Cuba.

     Eaton started her career in 1980 as an exploration geologist with Esso Canada Resources Ltd. where she got "hooked" on geophysics. Her oil and gas career included several years in Ottawa, Canada, where she worked as an exploration geophysicist and regulator with the Federal Department of Energy. From 1990-1996, Susan worked with Suncor Inc. (Resources Group) as a Senior Geophysicist; she explored for both conventional oil and gas, as well as for heavy crude in Western Canada. She is familiar with Suncor's oil sands mine and refinery in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

     Eaton's business experience includes evaluating and negotiating the fiscal terms of Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) with foreign national oil companies, and management of multidisciplinary teams to evaluate both domestic and international corporate acquisitions. She has demonstrated the ability to work within different cultures, with aboriginal peoples and in different languages (Spanish, French and German).

     A former television journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC-TV), Eaton specialized in science and technology, oil and gas, mining, natural resources and the environment. Susan currently writes articles focusing on emerging technologies within the oil and gas sector; her articles can be found in the New Technology Magazine which is published by the Nickle's Energy Group (Southam News) of Calgary. As well, she is the Canadian correspondent for the Tulsa-based Explorer Magazine published by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. She represents the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists on the Canadian Geoscience Council.

 

Patricio A. Marshall
Senior Exploration Consultant
(Buenos Aires, Argentina)
* Exploration and Development Geology and Geophysics

     Patricio Marshall has twenty years of experience as a professional geologist in Argentina. He is a specialist in the evaluation of exploratory drilling prospects, field development, log analysis, reserve estimation, geological field mapping, and geoscience database management. His international experience includes evaluation of petroleum license blocks in Bolivia, Libya, Algeria, and Tunisia. During the summers of 1986-1988, Mr. Marshall conducted geological field studies in Antarctica, and published six professional papers on his work there. Prior to becoming a consultant in 1999, Mr. Marshall worked from 1988-1998 for Pluspetrol, S.A, initially as a wellsite geologist, and then as a Senior Geologist. From 1983-1988, he was employed by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones (CONICET), for which he conducted geological studies in various Argentine basins and in Antarctica. Since 2001 he has bee a geological consultant for the Argentine Committee associated with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).  As a consultant, Patricio has worked both independently and as a member of various multi-disciplinary technical teams.

     Mr. Marshall received a degree in Geological Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires in 1982. His university studies also included courses in Reservoir Engineering. He has taken many petroleum industry short courses in the United States on sequence stratigraphy, structural geology, reservoir engineering, and seismic interpretation.

     Mr. Marshall has taught geology at the University of Buenos Aires for about ten years. He also has taught industry short courses focused on Petroleum Geology and the petroleum resources potential of the Argentine Offshore. Patricio has authored many related technical papers and professional society presentations.

    Mr. Marshall is a member of the AAPG, SPWLA, SPE and SEG, and has served as Member of the Board of the Asociacion Argentina de Geólogos y Geofisicos Petroleros. He is an active individual member of the Instituto Argentino del Petróleo y del Gas, where he participates in Exploration Committee activities.

 

John M. Powell
Senior Consultant - Economic Analysis
(New Canaan, Connecticut)
*Crude Oil and Petroleum Product Supply Analysis * Refining*
*Crude and Product Trading * Hedging *Strategic Planning
*Economics * Process Engineering

     John Powell has over 26 years of experience with major international oil companies in various downstream engineering, strategic planning, crude oil and refined products supply and distribution, and trading roles. Prior to becoming an independent consultant and securities trader in 1996, John was employed by Texaco Oil Trading & Supply, Inc. from 1990-1996, and by Mobil Oil Corporation from 1970-1990. At Texaco, he was Manager of Analysis and Planning and was directly involved in development of Texaco's market-to-market trading system, re-negotiation of the Texaco/Saudi Refining/Star Enterprises crude purchase contract, and instrumental in development of Texaco's long range strategy for marketing/refining of Texaco's heavy crude production out of the North Sea and the Kuwait Neutral Zone. While at Texaco, Mr. Powell was also manager of Product Trading in the New York office, where he traded refined products utilizing futures, options, and swaps to hedge physical trades. At Mobil, John started out as a process engineer from 1970-1977 at the Paulsboro Refinery. From 1977-1990, Mr. Powell had increasingly responsible positions as a Middle Eastern projects analyst; as an associate, coordinator and manager for US and International supply and demand analysis and long range planning, and refining and marketing facilities planning. Prior to joining Texaco, John was employed as Manager, West of Suez Analysis, Mobil Sales and Supply. Mr. Powell received a BS Degree in 1969 in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and an MS Degree in Chemical Engineering in 1970 from the University of Michigan. He was awarded a Proctor & Gamble Fellowship during his graduate studies. In 1989, Powell earned an MBA Degree from Baruch College, City University of New York, where he maintained a 4.0 GPA. For three years, he was a member of the American Stock Exchange where he trades equity options as an independent Option Market Maker (Registered Options Trader) on the floor of the exchange. Mr. Powell is a Registered Professional Engineer (Connecticut) and holds a commercial pilot's license.

 

William C. "Bill" McLeod
(Monroe, Connecticut)
* New Energy Technologies * Strategy Development & Planning * Process Engineering * Refining Technology *Climate Change Issues * Hydrogen Economy *Total Quality Management

     Bill McLeod has more than 33 years of experience as a former manager with Texaco, Inc. in refinery process engineering and refinery management, corporate planning, technology development, and strategy planning and business process analysis. He has also studied new energy technologies and climate change issues including greenhouse gas emissions calculations and control strategies. Bill has also handled many environmental regulatory issues. In his most recent position with Texaco Inc.'s Strategic Management Group, Bill managed the integration of technology and strategy development. He played a key role in developing and implementing a number of forward-looking strategies including investing in hydrogen and renewable energy technologies, monitoring and managing greenhouse gas emissions across the corporation, and presenting updated positions to interested external parties. Bill's career started in 1968 at Texaco's East Coast refinery. Engineering assignments across all types of oil refining/ processing units led to increased responsibilities and transfers to Houston, TX, and Lockport, IL, culminating with a return to New Jersey as Chief Process Engineer and subsequently Supervisor of Operations. In 1984, he moved to Texaco's Corporate Headquarters in NY as Downstream Coordinator in the Corporate Planning Department, initially serving as a liaison between corporate headquarters and refining, marketing and transportation business units on strategy and investment issues. In 1990, as the Total Quality movement expanded internationally, Bill was selected to be the Manager of Texaco's corporate effort to broaden customer satisfaction, teamwork, and employee empowerment. During the course of his career, Bill has worked as a guest examiner for the Westinghouse Total Quality Award, and as a participant on the National Petroleum Council's 1998-1999 Study of Product Supply and the US Dept. of Energy's Hydrogen Scenario Project. Bill has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University. He is currently a volunteer counselor for the greater Bridgeport area Chapter of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives).

 

Dan A. Billman
(Mars, Pennsylvania)

     Dan Billman has 14 years of experience in the Appalachian Basin with the last ten as a consulting geologist and President of Billman Geologic Consultants, Inc. Prior to independent consulting, Dan worked as an exploration and development geologist for Mark Resources Corporation and Eastern States Exploration Company. Mr. Billman is a registered professional geologist in the state of Pennsylvania. He has extensive experience both in development and exploration plays in the Appalachian Basin as well as experience in the Illinois, Black Warrior, Anadarko, Delaware/Permian, East Texas and Fort Worth Basins. Mr. Billman received his Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the University of Toledo and his Master of Science degree in Geology from West Virginia University. He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and is currently the AAPG Delegate representing the Pittsburgh Geological Society. Dan is a member and former President (2 terms) and Treasurer (2 terms) of the Pittsburgh Association of Petroleum Geologists. He is also a member of IOGA of Pennsylvania and New York, the Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Association, the Ohio Geological Society, Appalachian Geological Society and the Ontario Petroleum Institute. Mr. Billman has written and co-authored numerous published papers and technical presentations on the geology of the Appalachian Basin.


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