Manager Service

Paul R. Ashton Ph.D.

Petroleum Geologist

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Cities Service

Occidental

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Work Experience

****-**** *********** ********* *eologist, Geological Advisor to SOCO International plc (England)

An experienced, skilled petroleum geologist, manager and director with over 30 years experience in finding, developing and producing oil and natural gas.

Available for consulting work relating to worldwide new venture, exploration and business development. Emphasis is on creating maximum value through balanced portfolio management. Services range from the assessment of mature producing assets onshore (i.e. Venezuela) to the identification of emerging new venture plays offshore (i.e. West Africa).

I am keen to travel and enjoy working in overseas locations. I possess dual citizenship (US and UK).

1997-2002 Vanco Energy Company (Houston)

Executive Vice President Exploration and Director during a major growth cycle. Key member of the management team responsible for assembling a large high quality deepwater exploration portfolio in West Africa.

The portfolio included large tracts of frontier deepwater acreage in Morocco, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Namibia and Madagascar. Several of these areas bordered onto existing deepwater plays. Many of the blocks covered significant salt basins with evidence for syn- and post-depositional structures.

Conducted major 3D seismic surveys in Equatorial Guinea (Corisco Deep Block K), Gabon (Anton Marin and Astrid Marin), Ivory Coast (Block CI-112) and Morocco (Ras Tafelney and Safi Haute Mer Permits). Assembled and managed a small but very productive exploration team that lead the evaluation process and added considerable value to the portfolio.

As Director of the company, participated in strategic decision making to shape the future of the company and to plan for the transition from a new venture company to full-fledged E&P Independent.

1986-1997 Independent Petroleum Consultant (Houston)

Consultant with numerous clients, working Europe, South America, Africa and Asia. Principal areas included North Sea (UK and Dutch), Tunisia and Colombia.

Advised several companies on International exploration strategy and assisted in subsequent new venture work and business development.

Opened and ran the Houston office for Asamera, Inc. prior to that company's merger with Gulf Canada. Responsible for expanding Asamera's presence in Latin America. Acreage positions were obtained in Colombia and Argentina. Significant gas discoveries were later made in the Neuquen Basin.

Participated in the management team assembled by Van Dyke Energy for various North Sea bid rounds and farmin programs. Work included bringing in partners, assembling bid packages and making presentations to partners and governments.

From 1992 to 1997 worked closely with Mosbacher Energy Company, focusing on Tunisia, UK Offshore and India, as part of their expansion into an International Program. Ran the technical program for exploration on the Siliana Block, Tunisia, including geological fieldwork, seismic acquisition and interpretation, government liaison and farmout.

Established a central London office and ran Mosbacher UK as Technical Director, acquiring interest in undeveloped Otter Field (Block 21/15a) and exploration rights West of Shetland (Block 205/10). The Otter Field has subsequently been developed with a peak production of 30,000 bopd. Participation in the West of Shetland 16th Round was seen as a first by a small US Independent.

Assisted Mosbacher India in the appraisal and future development of the PY-1 Gas Field. Responsibilities included evaluation, negotiations, technical work and government liaison.

1977-1986 Cities Service Company/Occidental Petroleum (Singapore, Houston)

Career with Cities Service, later Occidental Petroleum, covered three distinct phases, starting with Singapore, then Latin America, finally Gulf Coast Texas.

Senior Staff Geologist, Singapore (1977-1980). Regional exploration activities emphasized Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Worked on first discoveries in Southern Pakistan (Khaskeli Field, Badin Block) opening up a new petroleum province in the Badin Block. Managed a major multi-discipline evaluation project covering the open areas offshore Sarawak, Malaysia. This project was successful in identifying the petroleum system of the Rajang Delta.

Transferred to Houston in 1980 as Manager Geology, South and Central America Region. Responsible for exploration and production work throughout the region.

Increased production in Colombia and Argentina through selective drilling of infill and stepout wells in eatablished fields (Payoa and Mendoza, respectively). Improved cash flow in both business units and used footing in both countries to expand exploration opportunities. In Argentina the Rio Negro Norte block was acquired within the Neuquen Basin.

Participated in first foreign exploration along Brazil s north coast and in the Parana Basin onshore. Wells drilled on the north coast were not successful but yielded valuable information for future programs.

Following acquisition of Cities Service by Occidental in 1983, transferred to US Gulf Coast Region and became active in the downdip Yegua trend. Supervised the exploration team responsible for drilling the Toro Grande Field, a condensate-rich gas field in Jackson County. This field was considered the most important Texas discovery in the year 1984 and opened the way for numerous additional discoveries along the deepwater sediment trend.

1970-1977 BP Exploration (London, Singapore)

Following the first few years in England, transferred to Singapore in 1974.

Hired as a Petroleum Geologist at BP's Sunbury-on-Thames Research Centre (1970-1974). Main areas of activity included Alaska (Prudhoe Bay), Abu Dhabi (Zhakum, Umm Shaif) and the UK North Sea (Forties). Much of the work involved petrographic analysis of carbonate and clastic reservoirs of these world class discoveries/fields.

Transferred to Singapore in 1974 to undertake operations in Thailand and Indonesia as well as new ventures throughout the region. Participated in the evaluation and operatorship of an exploration program in South Sulawesi (Sengkang Block). Geological fieldwork indicated that the subsurface anomalies were most likely reefs, not volcanoes. A four well helirig drilling program led to the discovery of several significant gas fields (reserves of at least 1 Tcf prior to full appraisal).

Education

1967 B.Sc. (Hons) Geology, University of Southampton. Received an Upper Second Class Honors Degree

1970 Ph.D. Geology, University of Southampton. Research Topic "The Carbonate Sedimentology of the Ravenstonedale Limestone and it Correlatives in Northwestern England". The thesis was accepted and doctorate granted in August 1970

During the past 30 years I have attended numerous classes and courses related to the Petroleum Industry, both Technical and Managerial. I have also authored or co-authored papers on International exploration and production topics from Indonesia to West Africa.

A three page printable version of this resume is available as a

Contact: ********@**********.***

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