Keynote Speakers

Speakers - in alphabetical order

Keynote Biographies

Honourable Gerry Brownlee

Gerry Brownlee is currently Minister for Economic Development, Minister of Energy and Resources, Leader of the House and Associate Minister for the Rugby World Cup. His economic development portfolio also makes him responsible for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

Gerry was born and educated in Christchurch and has lived in the Ilam electorate all his life. After leaving St Bede's College, Gerry began his career in the family timber business. He trained to be a carpenter, gained several trade qualifications and operated his own business. In 1980 Gerry trained as a secondary school teacher and he taught until 1995.

Following a long involvement in the National Party, he won the constituency of Ilam in 1996, with a majority of 10,090. He has held the seat comfortably since then. During his political career he has served as Junior Whip and Deputy Leader of the National Party. He is currently a senior Minister ranked third in the Cabinet.
Gerry has always been involved in the local community and served on the Riccarton Bush Trust. He is a strong advocate for sport and cultural activity for all New Zealanders.

William Buechler

William J. Buechler is the President, Chief Investment Officer and majority shareholder of Buechler Capital Asset Management, LLC, an asset management firm specializing in global opportunistic value investing, and is the lead portfolio manager of the Kiwi-Pacific Fund, LP.

The Kiwi-Pacific Fund is a New Zealand centric, pooled investment fund, with approximately 80% of its assets invested in New Zealand and the remaining 20% invested in Australia and throughout the South Pacific region - with a concentration on energy and infrastructure investments. In addition, Buechler Capital Asset Management manages substantial assets invested in the United States.
Mr. Buechler currently resides in La Jolla, California and Auckland, New Zealand.

Walter Hamilton

Walter is currently Vice President, Middle East and AustralAsia. He was born in Vienna in 1955 and obtained his doctor’s degree in Geology at the University of Vienna in 1981. His previous experience includes Geologist in Vienna, Senior Explorationist in OMV’s Canada branch office and Vienna’s head office.

He went on to be the Chief Geologist in the Pakistan branch, Exploration Manager in Austria, Manager Subsurface worldwide and Vice President of Exploration and Reservoir Management, Petrom Subsidiary, Romania. He is married with two children.
 

Honourable Bill English

Bill English has been a Member of Parliament since 1990 when he was elected to the former seat of Wallace in the rural heartland of the south of the South Island. The seat, now called Clutha-Southland, has expanded to include much of the Queenstown area.
Bill is a former Leader of the National Party and is now the Deputy Leader. He is Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister for Infrastructure in the John Key-led National government.

He has served as Minister of Health, Minister of Finance and Minister of Revenue in previous National governments and was shadow Education spokesperson.

 

Farouk Al-Kasim

Farouk has spent 49 years in private and government positions within the petroleum industry. With a background in petroleum geology, he worked 12 years with Iraq Petroleum Company in exploration, reservoir geology and field development planning. He then moved to Norway where he was instrumental in establishing the Norwegian Petroleum Administration (1968 to 1973), and played a key role in developing the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate where he was Director of Resource Management (1973-1990).

He has served on several public committees on energy and petroleum R&D, field development and gas development strategies. His long and varied experience in technical management and petroleum administration has given him valuable understanding of multi disciplinary team-work and the need for effective communication as a key to co-operation. As initiator and exponent of the NPD Petroleum Outlooks (1982-1987), he has helped develop methodologies for forecasting and scenario work, and has gained a unique overview of the Norwegian oil industry, the challenges it faces and the opportunities that are open to it.

Professor Alex Kemp

Alexander G. Kemp is a director and founder of Aupec Ltd. He is also currently Professor of Economics at the University of Aberdeen. He previously worked for Shell, the University of Strathclyde and the University of Nairobi. For many years he has specialised in his research in petroleum economics with special reference to licensing and petroleum taxation issues. He has published over 200 books and papers in this field, including Petroleum Rent Collection around the World, Institute for Research on Public Policy (Canada). He was awarded the OBE for services to the oil and gas industry in 2006.

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Speaker Biographies
 

John Anderson

John Anderson is currently the Exploration Manager for OMV NZ Ltd. He graduated with an MSc. in Geology from Victoria University Wellington. He has over 25 years industry experience and has worked for OMV, Fletcher Challenge Energy, and Shell in New Zealand, the North Sea, Venezuela, and several countries in Asia.

John Bay

John is a petroleum engineer with 30 years of international oil and gas experience, the last 20 of which have been in New Zealand. Mr Bay joined L&M Energy as the Managing Director: Petroleum in September 2006 and is the current Chairman of PEPANZ (Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand.)

John has MSc (Engineering Economics) from St Mary’s University of Texas, a BSc (Petroleum Engineering) and a BA (Psychology) from West Virginia University. He is a 30 year member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, a provisionally accredited member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors and a 15 year member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.

Dr Mac Beggs

Mac Beggs has been Exploration Manager for NZOG since May 2009. Previously, he was founder and Managing Director of GeoSphere Ltd, an exploration geoscience consultancy. Prior to that he was Group Manager Resources with GNS Science and a petroleum geologist with its predecessor DSIR divisions from 1988 to 1997. Earlier he worked as a petroleum exploration geologist for the US affiliate of BP in Texas. Mac has BSc and MSc degrees in geology from the University of Otago and a PhD in geological sciences from the University of California.
 

Kay Bierbrauer

Kay obtained a Master of Science in Geology from the State University of New York in 1990 and a PhD from the University of Wurzburg in 1995. In 1996 he joint Wintershall AG in Germany and worked as a 3D geological reservoir modeller and seismic interpreter.

In 2002 he moved to Brisbane to start his Aussie experience with Origin Energy in the Otway Basin. Since then he has worked on many of Origin's onshore Australian assets before starting work on the Northland Basin and Taranaki Basin in late 2007. His current role as principal geoscientist in the Taranaki team includes seismic interpretation and general geological studies.
 

David Buckrell

David’s focus is on providing analysis and advice on policy settings and market developments in New Zealand’s upstream exploration, natural gas and downstream petroleum sectors.

David was previously an oil consultant at a Washington-based consultancy, working out of Paris and focusing on global midstream, refining and marketing issues, with a specialisation in the midstream and downstream sectors of the Former Soviet Union.

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Dr Richard Cook

Richard Cook is Chief Petroleum Geologist at Crown Minerals, Ministry of Economic Development. His career began with Texaco, working in the North Sea and elsewhere, before he returned to New Zealand to join the Geological Survey and complete a PhD in oil - source rock studies at Victoria University of Wellington. Before moving to Crown Minerals, Richard managed the Geological Time Section at GNS Science, responsible for staff working mainly in paleontology, including oil industry service and consultancy.

David Coull

David Coull is partner at Bell Gully specialising in corporate and energy law. He has a wide range of transactional and advisory experience with a particular focus on the upstream sector. David is currently the Deputy Chair of PEPANZ and the Chair of its Policy Committee.

He started his legal career at Bell Gully and subsequently worked for a three year period in the New York and London offices of Cravath, Swaine and Moore LLP. At Cravath, David undertook a wide variety of M&A transactions for corporates such as ConocoPhillips, Nestle, Citigroup and Bristol-Myers Squibb. He also holds an LLM from Cambridge University in the UK.

Peter Crabtree

Peter is the Director of the Energy and Communications Branch, Ministry of Economic Development.

Barrett (Bret) Dixon

Mr. Dixon joined Anadarko in 2006 and has served in several capacities within the New Venture Exploration and International Business Development groups. Prior to joining Anadarko he worked for Exxon and then ExxonMobil as a technical leader in a variety of international deep water exploration, development, production and research roles.

Mr. Dixon holds a M.S. degree in Geology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a B.A. degree in Geology from Colby College. He is an Associate Editor of the Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and is a member of the Technical Program Committee for the 2011 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition.

Mark Dunphy

Mark Dunphy, originally from Wellington, New Zealand, first practised law, then enjoyed a 20 year career as a Banker, working in Australia and Ireland. From 1989, Mark was Chairman and a significant shareholder of Cultus Petroleum. Cultus was the Exploration Operator responsible for the discovery of Maari, currently New Zealand’s largest oilfield. Cultus was acquired by OMV in 1999.

From 1997, Mark was Chairman and significant shareholder of Interstate Energy Limited, a holder of the Roma gas fields and Roma-Brisbane pipeline. Interstate was sold in 2003.
Mark is Chairman and the significant shareholder of Greymouth Petroleum (established 1999).

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Dr Don Elder

Don received his BE (Hons) from the University of Canterbury in 1980 and his D.Phil. at the University of Oxford, UK, on a Rhodes Scholarship. He worked in the UK, the US and NZ from 1983 to 1990 then from 1990 to 2000 was Vice-President of one of Canada’s premier engineering firms, working throughout North America and around the world on a range of business activities and projects.
 

Colin Finnegan

Graduating from University of Ulster in 1989, Colin has in excess of 21 years experience in the well engineering industry.

In 2002, Colin co-founded the SPD group to provide well engineering services and is currently the Asia Pacific Regional Director for SPD. Since 2002, SPD has grown to be a global company with over 250 well engineering personnel and is now owned by the Petrofac Group.

Colin is a Chartered Engineer with the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. In 2008 Colin was crowned the Middle East Oil Baron for services to the oil industry. Colin lives in New Zealand where he also manages the SPD offices in Auckland.
 

Kevin Furlong

Kevin is professor of Geosciences at the Pennsylvania State University, USA. Recent research includes studies of the development of the Cenozoic New Zealand plate boundary with a focus on the role that subduction initiation and southward propagation/emplacement along the Hikurangi margin has had in driving basin development/inversion and the thermal consequences for basinal sediments.

He also has active research projects focused on the development of the Puysegur boundary and its impact on crustal deformation and basin evolution in Fiordland, Southland and Otago. In 2002/2003 he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar in New Zealand, and is presently a sabbatical visitor at several New Zealand universities.

Dr Karen Higgs

Karen is a Reservoir Geologist with a PhD from Reading University and over 16 years experience in reservoir characterisation through her role as Geologist at GNS Science and Robertson Research. She has worked on a wide variety of international projects and has been lead geologist on over 20 integrated reservoir characterisation projects in New Zealand. Karen is currently working on a number of projects for GNS Science based out of the UK.
 

Brent Hulbert

Brent Hulbert is partner at PwC based in Taranaki with extensive tax experience and deep industry knowledge in the oil and gas sector. Prior to joining PwC, Brent held tax responsibilities for a large corporate within the oil and gas industry for over five years. He also gained experience within other large companies and a major accounting firm, in tax and accounting positions in New Zealand and overseas. Brent’s client portfolio includes many oil and gas service companies along with exploration and production companies.

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Mike Isaac

Mike Isaac works at GNS Science as a geologist. Last century, he worked on coal geology and sedimentary basin analysis projects and for some years led the QMAP national geological mapping and digital database programme. He joined the dark side in 2002 and for seven years was general manager of the GNS Science Natural Resources Group. Mike is working mainly on the Offshore Prospectivity Atlas, a part of the MED Crown Minerals-funded Petroleum Exploration Geoscience Initiative.
 

Rob Jager

Rob was born in February 1959 in Indonesia. He joined Shell in New Zealand in 1978 as an engineering cadet and subsequently completed his Engineering degree in 1983.

Rob worked in a variety of engineering, project management and senior leadership roles at Shell Todd Oil Services (STOS) in Taranaki and completed an MBA with distinction.

In1999 he left NZ shores and joined Shell’s Regional Business Directorate for Australasia and the Far-East, as a Regional Business Advisor for Australia. He was Senior Business Advisor for the China West to East pipeline project and then commenced the position of Maintenance and Engineering Manager for the Shell Exploration and Production, Asia Pacific region, in 2003.
 

Andrew Jefferies

B.Eng (Mech) MSc (Petr Eng) MBA SPE GAICD

Andrew is a Petroleum Engineer who has worked for OMV New Zealand as Operations and Engineering Manager in Wellington since 2007. Prior to this worked with Shell International for 17 years in Australia, Thailand, UK, Germany and The Netherlands in Refining, LNG, Exploration and Production.

John Kidd

John is Head of Research with specialist sharebroking and investment banking firm McDouall Stuart. John has 15 years of analytical and consulting experience in the energy sector across both the public and private sectors. John’s experience includes a number of years in-house with listed blue chip energy majors including four years at Shell’s global head office in London where he worked on developing new E&P, gas, power generation and petrochemical business ventures, primarily in Asia and Latin America.

Before joining Shell John spent three years at NGC’s (now Vector’s) head office in Wellington. John is the only specialist oil, gas and minerals equity research analyst in the New Zealand market.
 

Malcolm King

Malcolm has a Masters Degree in Petroleum Geology (1987) from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland and Bachelor Degree in Applied Science (1984). He joined Shell Development Australia in 1988, working as a geologist in exploration, operations and new ventures roles, both onshore and offshore Australia.

In 2000 Malcolm moved from EP to Shell’s Gas and Power division as the Business Development Manager for Shell’s North West Shelf interests. In 2005 moved to Japan as General Manager for LNG and Strategy, supporting Shell’s LNG marketing initiatives in the Asia Pacific region as well as customer development.

In 2008 he joined the Shell’s Floating LNG Team based in Singapore.

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Rod Van Koughnet

Rod is a geophysicist with 20 years experience in petroleum exploration.

Prior to joining L&M in 2007, Rod worked the Taranaki Basin for Swift Energy and Fletcher Challenge Energy as Senior Geophysicist. Previously, Rod worked in the US for Emerald Geoscience Research (Senior Geophysicist, Gulf of Mexico AVO consulting) and Amoco Production Company (thrust belt seismic interpreter, AVO team leader, tight gas petrophysicist, operations geologist, and seismic processor).

Rod has an MSc in Geology (Geophysics option) from Wright State University and BSc in Geology from the University of Toledo, both in Ohio, USA.
 

Tom Loutit

Tom Loutit is Managing Director of FrOG Tech Pty Ltd based in Canberra, Australia. FrOG means From Oil to Groundwater. Tom did his undergraduate work at the University of Otago in New Zealand and received his PhD in Geological Oceanography from the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island in the US. He has worked at Exxon Production Research in Houston, the Australian Geological Survey Organisation (Geoscience Australia) and 2 consulting firms in Australia. He formed FrOG Tech in 2004 and recently acquired GeoSphere in New Zealand.
 

Eric Matthews

Eric Matthews is a petroleum geologist with over 25 years experience in oil exploration primarily in Australia and New Zealand. He first worked for Shell in Taranaki in 1975 before completing higher degrees in geology and working for a year with the NZ Oceanographic Institute. In 1982 he joined New Zealand Oil and Gas and was Exploration Manager for both NZOG and sister company Pan Pacific Petroleum from 1994. In his time with NZOG he was instrumental in a number of discoveries, notably Kupe, Ngatoro and more recently, the Tui oil discovery. In 2004 Eric joined AWE as Asset Manager.
 

Dr Chris McKeown

Chris has been working in the oil and gas sector since the mid ‘90’s and has held a number of technical and strategic roles for a range of companies in the energy sector; including; BG Group; Contact Energy; Austral Pacific Energy and now L&M Energy.

He has been with L&M Energy since June 2008 and is responsible for developing new business opportunities, marketing LME’s prospects for farmout and managing all commercial and contractual aspects related to oil and gas exploration. Chris holds a BSc in Applied Geology and a PhD in mathematical modelling of fluid flow and geochemistry.
 

Mike Oakes

Mike Isaac works at GNS Science as a geologist. Last century, he worked on coal geology and sedimentary basin analysis projects and for some years led the QMAP national geological mapping and digital database programme. He joined the dark side in 2002 and for seven years was general manager of the GNS Science Natural Resources Group. Mike is working mainly on the Offshore Prospectivity Atlas, a part of the MED Crown Minerals-funded Petroleum Exploration Geoscience Initiative.
 

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Dr Steven Pearce

Steve is the Manager of Solid Energy’s Underground Coal Gasification business. He joined SE in 2005 leading the evaluation and commercialisation of both underground and surface gasification.

Prior to joining Solid Energy he worked as a senior combustion engineer at the innovative distributed electricity generation company Whisper Tech and as principal engineer at CRL Energy where he designed and built a pilot coal gasification plant. He has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Canterbury University with a focus on combustion of alternative fuels.

Steve is currently vice-chair of the IEA - Hydrogen Implementation Agreement Committee.
 

Ingo Pecher

In 1991 Ingo obtained an MSc ("Diploma") and in 1995 he was awarded a PhD. His areas of expertise in Geophysics include Gas Hydrates, Marine Geophysics, P - S converted waves, Subduction zones, Waveform inversion and AVO.

He is a member of the American Geophysical Union, the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, the European Geophysical Society and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists.
 

David Salisbury

David Salisbury has law and commerce degrees and worked as a commercial solicitor before joining Petrocorp Exploration as a business analyst. His career includes senior commercial positions with Fletcher Challenge Energy, Preussag Energie and OMV.

Before joining NZOG in 2007 he was vice president Business Development for OMV based in Vienna, with responsibility for OMV's worldwide business development activities.

Damian Stone

Damian is a corporate lawyer who advises on mergers and acquisitions, commercial
transactions, joint ventures and contracts and is a recognised expert in Treaty of Waitangi
matters.

Before joining Kahui Legal this year, Damian spent almost 10 years working for Bell Gully, a major commercial law firm in New Zealand. Prior to joining Bell Gully, he was General Counsel for the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission.

Richard Sykes

Richard (M.Sc., Geology, University of Canterbury) is a senior petroleum geochemist at GNS Science where he leads Government-funded research and undertakes commercial consultancy work on petroleum source rocks and fluids. He is also a visiting lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington.

He joined the predecessor organisation of GNS Science in 1985, and has since worked extensively in various New Zealand basins, as well as basins in Canada, Indonesia and Antarctica.

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Chris Uruski

Chris Uruski manages the GNS Science Frontier Basins project in New Zealand, where he has worked since 1987. His main area of expertise is seismic interpretation and he has been lead author or co-author of regional research and consultancy reports on western Southland, East Coast, deep water Taranaki, Raukumara, offshore Northland, Reinga, Pegasus, and Great South Basin. Chris has worked on contract for many, if not most, of the exploration companies active in New Zealand.

Ray Wood

Ray is Section Manager of the Hydrocarbons team at GNS Science, Lower Hutt. He has had more than 30 years experience exploring the geologic structure, tectonic history, and resource potential of New Zealand. His primary research interest is the integration of geology and geophysics to understand the processes of basin formation, controls on petroleum maturation and migration, and evolution of New Zealand's paleogeography and paleoenvironment. Ray helped lead the technical team that defined New Zealand’s continental shelf and obtained its acceptance by the United Nations. He has advised 3 other countries on their continental shelf projects, and was a Board member and Technical Director of an IT startup.
 

Paul Zealand

Paul has a MBA (with distinction), BSc (1st class Hons.). Paul started his career with 8 years as a Marine Engineer with a UK shipping company, and on his first voyage came to Australia at the age of 18, and whilst he has worked in Australia from 1992-1998, it took until 2005 for Paul to settle here permanently.

Prior to joining Origin, Paul had 25 years oil and gas experience with upstream, refining and strategy assignments in New Zealand with Shell at various locations in Europe and Australia; prior to joining Origin in 2005 was Chairman and General Manager of Shell in New Zealand.

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