Ernesto L. Astete, MSc, MBA. PEng

*** ******** ****** *****

Chestermere, Alberta

T1X 1C8

403-***-**** (Residence)

403-***-**** (Cellular)

E-Mail: ac397r@r.postjobfree.com

Professional engineer educated in Chile and in Canada, with proven track record of solving problems, improving processes and applying new technologies. Ernesto is an inspiring mentor and motivator for younger professionals. Business and technically oriented decision maker. Experienced working in different cultural and social environments. Many years of experience in reservoir engineering, project management and new ventures. Currently, after a period of traveling he his mentoring the owners of a merging development and construction company.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Educated in Chile Ernesto initiated his career as a Chemical engineer in a Petrochemical complex in Chile, becoming the chief engineer of a Chlorine Caustic Plant. After moving to Calgary he graduated with an MSc in Chemical engineering and initiated is career in the oil industry working for the NEB (National Energy Board) where he authored a paper on the quality of Canadian oil and its implications on Canadian refineries. Later he moved to PetroCanada undertaking several different roles for a 10 years period. During his time with PetroCanada be became a team leader for several mayor projects. He developed a waterflood for the first field discovered by PetroCanada (Valhalla Doe Creek) and proposed and implemented the first horizontal well drilled by PetroCanada (Brazeau River-Nisku A) in a gas injection miscible oil pool, the deepest horizontal well in Canada at the time. While with PetroCanada he initiated his exposure to international businesses assessing projects in Spain, Colombia and Ecuador.

After PetroCanada he worked on several medium size companies mainly on international Projects. The projects included economical and technical assessments of business opportunities in South America including Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela for companies such as Canadian Occidental (now Nexen) and Norcen International (now part of CNRL).

Ernesto has maintained himself abreast of new technologies through technical University courses and industry training. He has also maintained a business focus that led him to pursue a degree in Business from the University of Western Ontario (MBA, 2001).

During the last 15 years he has been providing technical and business support to several oil companies both as a consultant and as a staff member. This work has taken him to projects in the Middle East, including Yemen, Syria and Kurdistan. The technical involvement has included simulation of primary and waterflood in Yemen, field development and thermal recovery by CSS in Syria and simulation and asphaltenes deposition studies in Kurdistan.

Ernesto has been travelling to several places since completing his role with Canacol in October 2013 and is now looking to continue his career as staff or consultant in business or engineering.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Mar 12-Oct 2013 Canacol Energy Limited (Ecuador Activities)

Engineering and Commercial Advisor. Evaluated the interest of Canacol on the Libertador field and presented the results to the several Banks to secure financing for the project. The Libertador field is a Service Contract where Canacol has a 25% working interest. Participated in the technical discussions with partners for field development, well recompletions, new drilling and reserve evaluations for submission to government agencies. The rapid declining field production prior to the Contract was reversed and the field increased the production by 1,000 bopd in a period of 1.5 years.

Dec 10-Mar 2012 Western Zagros Resources Limited (Kurdistan Activities)

Senior Reservoir Engineer Consultant. (Kurdamir and Sarqala fields) The Kurdamir field in Kurdistan is a giant carbonate oil reservoir with a gas cap. Simulated the Kurdamir field after drilling Kurdamir 1 and recommended to delay gas production until development and evaluation of the oil leg. The Sarqala field is an oil reservoir that was re-entered and put on a six month long production test. Monitored the production of Sarqala and recommended and coordinated special fluids and core studies and a study on asphaltenes deposition. The long term production average 5,000 bopd and was limited by market constrains.

May Dec 2010 Orion Oil and Gas Corporation (South America Activities)

Business Development Engineer Consultant. Evaluated business opportunities in Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia. No opportunity was of interest and the company close its International Business Unit.

2008-2010 TANGANYIKA Oil Company Ltd and Sinopec (SIPC Syria Limited)

Senior Reservoir Engineer for the Oudeh field (Syria) and Reservoir Engineer Advisor for the technology transfer of the Tanganyika operations to Sinopec. The Oudeh field is a heavy oil carbonate under primary production and thermal recovery by Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS). Recommended field development and optimization of the Oudeh field and modelled CSS. Production was increased from about 1,140 to 5,000 bopd during this period.

2007-2008 CALVALLEY PETROLEUM INC (Yemen Operations)

Senior Reservoir Engineer for the Hiswah producing field in Yemen. The Hiswah field is a fractured carbonate reservoir that was modelled for field optimization and secondary recovery by water and gas injection. Evaluated field optimization, field development and potential for secondary recovery and made recommendations to partners.

1998 - 2007 ASTETE CONSULTING LTD. – (Principal)

January 2007 to April 2007. Consultant for Gran Tierra (Reservoir Engineer and Economic Analyst for the Argentinean Properties)

September 2005 to February 2007. Consultant for Apache (Reservoir Engineer for the optimization of waterflood projects on small carbonate reefs)

August 2001 to June 2005. Consultant for EnCana (Business Analyst for the Ecuador Development Business Unit, in charge of the Operated Blocks, until the disposition of the properties to Sinopec in June 2005)

July 1998 to May 2001. Reservoir Engineer Consultant for PetroCanada’s Assets teams of Ricinus/Bearberry, Grande Prairie and Foothills areas.

1994 - 1998 CANADIAN OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM LIMITED

Senior Staff Reservoir Engineer (Latin America Business Unit)

Engineering Co-ordinator for Colombia. I received the Employee Recognition Award in 1997 for my work in Colombia. Evaluated opportunities in South America, mainly Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Managed the Canadian Petroleum International exhibit “Partner of Choice” during the SPE International Petroleum Conference and Exhibition in Villa Hermosa, Mexico on March 3 - 5, 1998.

1994 - 1994 NORCEN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

March to December 1994. Senior Reservoir Engineer (International Development). I worked on evaluating opportunities in South America. The main countries of interest were Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina.

1992 - 1994 INDEPENDENT PETROLEUM CONSULTANT

Presented the course "Petróleo Pesado" (Heavy Crude Oil), in Spanish, to PetroEcuador in Quito, November 23 to 27, 1992.

Reservoir Engineer Consultant for ISH to prepared a study on waterflood optimization, and applied to the DEM for infill drilling and well conversions for the Eureka South Unit (Saskatchewan). (January to November, 1993).

Reservoir Engineer Consultant for Morgan Hydrocarbons for the evaluations of the marginal oil fields in Venezuela. (June/July, 1993)

Consultant for TroCana Resources Inc., working in reservoir engineering for horizontal drilling and for optimization of existing waterfloods. (July 1993 to March 1994)

1981 - 1992 PETRO CANADA RESOURCES

Senior Staff Engineer (Drilling Engineering) 1991-1992

Prepared drilling programs for sour wells, deep vertical wells and horizontal wells. Designed and selected drilling services.

Senior Staff Engineer (Foothills Value Centre) 1989-1991

Modelled high pressure miscible pools under gas injection in Brazeau area. I proposed and worked as Project Leader for the engineering design and drilling of the first horizontal well drilled by PetroCanada. The well was drilled in the miscible pool and based on the success of the well it was followed by a re-entry horizontal section on another Brazeau Nisku pool.

Senior Staff Engineer (International Reservoir Engineering) 1987-1989

Economical evaluation of exploration projects in South America, S.E. Asia and North Africa. These evaluations included assessment of reserves, production forecast and evaluation of fiscal regimes.

PetroCanada’s Technical Representative on the Operating Committee for the Casablanca Field, offshore the Mediterranean, in Spain.

Presented the in-house course Reservoir Engineering aspects of International Economic Evaluations.

Senior Engineer, Senior Staff Engineer, Group Leader (Reservoir Engineering) 1981-1987

Project Leader for the optimization of the Bellshill Lake Field (heavy oil pool under water injection).

Project Leader for the Valhalla Doe Creek I Pool from inception to the implementation of a 40-acre 5-spot waterflood.

Reservoir Engineer Leader for the upgrading of the facilities for the waterflood of the Peejay Field in B.C.

1977 - 1981 NATIONAL ENERGY BOARD, Calgary, Alberta

Senior Reserves Analyst

Research Engineer

1975 - 1977 UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY, Calgary, Alberta

Graduate Student and Teaching Assistant

1971 - 1974 PETROQUIMICA CHILENA S.A. (CHILEAN PETROCHEMICAL)

Senior Engineer Technical Department

Chief Engineer Chlor-Alkaline Plant

Assistant to the Manager of Engineering and Operations

1968 - 1971 UNIVERSITY OF CHILE, Valparaiso, Chile

Professor of Physics, Faculty of Science

EDUCATION

2001 MBA, The Ivey School of Business (University of Western Ontario)

1977 M.Sc. Chemical Engineering, University of Calgary

Thesis: "Laser Anemometry Using a Counter Signal Processor"

1970 Civil Chemical Engineer (Ingeniero Civil Quimico), Technical University Federico Santa Maria (Chile)

Thesis: "Computational Models of Heat Exchangers"

Other Studies see Attachment I.

MEMBERSHIPS

Member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA) since March 26, 1993

Member of the Petroleum Society of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy & Petroleum, since 1985.

PAPERS

LASER ANEMOMETRY by E.L. Astete and R.D. Rowe, presented at the 87th Conference of Chemical Engineering, Calgary, Alberta, 1978

CANADIAN CRUDE OIL: ITS CHANGES AND REFINING IMPLICATIONS, by E.L. Astete and A.M.H. Gutek, JCPT, October-December, 1979

CASE STUDY: DEVELOPMENT AND OPTIMIZATION OF PETRO CANADA'S VALHALLA DOE CREEK I POOL, by E.L. Astete, presented at the LXV RANE of ARPEL in Punta Arenas, Chile, November, 1987

PERFORMANCE REVIEW OF BRAZEAU RIVER NISKU MISCIBLE FLOOD PROJECTS, by J.I. Lee, E.L. Astete and T.F. Jerhoff, presented at the 66th Annual Conference of the SPE in Dallas, October 1991

A SIMULATION STUDY OF A CYCLIC STEAM STIMULATION PILOT IN A DEEP CARBONATE HEAVY OIL RESERVOIR IN OUDEH FIELD, SYRIA, by M. Li and E.L. Astete, presented at the Canadian Unconventional Resources and International Petroleum Conference, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, October 2010.

OTHER STUDIES-(Attachment 1)

2009 Thermal Recovery Methods (The University of Calgary)

2008 Naturally Fractured Reservoirs (The University of Calgary)

2004 Natural Gas Markets (The University of Calgary)

2003 Macroeconomics (The University of Calgary)

Microeconomics (The University of Calgary

1998Eclipse Advanced Users Course

1997 Horizontal Well Technology (DEA-44)

1996 The Dale Carnegie Course

1993 The application of Horizontal wells to Petroleum Production (The University of Calgary)

1992 Applied Numerical Methods in Engineering (The University of Calgary)

1991 Project Management - Kepner Tregoe (PCI In-house)

1990 Well Test Interpretation in Practice (SSI)

Horizontal Well for Improved Production (The University of Calgary)

Well Design Technology for Horizontal Drilling (SPE)

1988 Drilling and Production Engineering (The University of Calgary)

1987 Financial Accounting (The University of Calgary)

Operational Management (The University of Calgary)

Production Engineering (The University of Calgary)

DST Interpretation Seminar

1986 Naturally Fractured Reservoirs (R. Aguilera - Servipetrol)

1985 Economics of the Oil and Gas Industry (The University of Calgary)

1984 Behavioural Science Foundations (The University of Calgary)

Creative Negotiations (PCI In-house)

Improved Oil Recovery Unit II: Enhanced Oil Recovery (OGCI)

1983 Improved Oil Recovery, Unit I: Waterflooding (OGCI)

Petrology for Engineers (PCI In-house)

1982 Fundamentals of Supervision (PCI In-house)

1981 Heavy Oil Recovery

Well Logging (Schlumberger)

1980 Reservoir Simulation I and II (The University of Calgary)

Production Engineering (CIM)

1979 Technical Report Writing (CIM)

Geology for Engineers (CIM)

1978 Thermal Methods of Heavy Oil Recovery (The University of Calgary)

Advanced Reservoir Engineering (The University of Calgary)

Economic Analysis of the Canadian Oil and Gas Industry

1975 Laser Anemometry (The University of Minnesota)

1973 Production Management (ICARE- Chile)

1971 Project Control Systems and Critical Path Methods (ENACO - Chile)

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