Strode Pennebaker

Engineering Manager

Mr. Pennebaker joined CMI in 2006 bringing with him 29 years of domestic and international experience in the oil and gas industry. His experience includes operations, engineering and management assignments in North America, South America and Asia Pacific. Mr. Pennebaker began his career with Shell Oil and subsequently worked for American Exploration Company, Western Atlas and Baker Hughes.

Mr. Pennebaker is a graduate of The University of Texas with a BS in Mechanical Engineering with Honors. He had undergraduate studies in Engineering Physics at Cornell University as well as graduate programs at Houston Baptist University, Rice University and Wharton School of Finance. Professional memberships include the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, the Society of Petroleum Engineers as well as the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers and the Society of Professional Well Log Analysts. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas and Louisiana.

John Curtis “Curt” Killinger

Senior Reservoir Engineer (Americas)

Mr. Killinger’s 30+ years of experience in petroleum exploration, production and business development includes evaluation of economics and fiscal regimes, determination of risk and reserves, field commercialization and development, project management of technological initiatives and studies, business planning, operations coordination, financial analysis and accountability. His worldwide experience includes work in the USA, UK, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia, Thailand, Trinidad, Vietnam, and West Africa.

Mr. Killinger has a BS in Applied Math and a MS in Engineering Management, both from Missouri University for Science & Technology (University of Missouri – Rolla), as well as an ME in Petroleum Engineering from Tulane University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (currently Treasurer of the Business Development Study Group (Gulf Coast Section), the IPAA (Vice-Chairman for the Gulf of Mexico, Business Development), the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Houston Geologic Society, the American Society for Engineering Management and the Offshore Energy Society.

David Wilson

International Reservoir Engineer

Mr. Wilson became a member of the CMI Team in July 2004. His extensive international experience includes work in Australia, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Hungary, Indonesia, Peru, Turkey and Venezuela. Prior to joining CMI, he worked in various engineering and management capacities at El Paso/Coastal Oil & Gas, Enserch Exploration, Operational Services Inc., Aquila Energy Resources and Arco Oil & Gas.

Mr. Wilson received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas and a BS in Math from Baylor University. He is a Registered Professional Petroleum Engineer in the State of Texas and is a current member of SPE and API.

Randy Cazenave

International Reservoir Engineer/Business Development (Asia-Pacific)

Mr. Cazenave’s 30+ years of domestic and international E&P experience includes asset acquisition and divestiture evaluation, complex international opportunity analysis, multi-party contract negotiations, team building, tactical and strategic planning, technology transfer, reservoir management, production and drilling engineering, office administration, and field operations. Prior to joining CMI in 2008, he worked in various engineering and management capacities at The George R. Brown Partnership, L.P., Sovereign Oil & Gas Company, Gemini Solutions Inc., ChevronTexaco Corp., Aramco, and Getty Oil.

Mr. Cazenave received a BS in Petroleum Engineering from Louisiana State University. He is a Registered Professional Petroleum Engineer in the State of Louisiana and is a current member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Steve Gilbert

Operations Manager (Europe-Africa)

Mr. Gilbert joined Challenger Minerals (North Sea) Limited in January 2008 and is responsible for providing engineering and operation support to CMI projects. Prior to joining CMI, he managed the Caspian Drilling Company in Azerbaijan. He also worked for Applied Drilling Technology Inc. (ADTI) in the North Sea and Irish Sea. Additional engineering positions were held with Halliburton, Shell and Schlumberger.

Mr. Gilbert received a BEng (Hons) in Mining Engineering from the Camborne School of Mines in 1990.

William Hamby

Consulting Engineer (Americas)

Mr. Hamby has over 50 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. This vast experience includes domestic offshore and Alaskan operations and the North Sea as well as onshore Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Kansas. International experience, in addition to the North Sea includes China, Russia, Poland, Canada and the Philippine Islands. Prior to joining CMI, Mr. Hamby worked as a manager for Ashland Exploration and as an engineer for Union Carbide and Phillips Petroleum.

Mr. Hamby is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a BS in Oil and Gas Engineering. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas. He has served as an expert witness for several industry/government regulatory agencies and in numerous legal proceedings.

Nigel Brealey

Consulting Engineer (Europe-Africa)

Mr. Brealey started consulting with Challenger Minerals (North Sea) Limited in 2007. He has over 36 years international experience based in Abu Dhabi, Aberdeen, London and Anchorage. His first position was with the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company where he gained experience in planning, development and production engineering. He has also worked with Arco, and spent 25 years with BP where he held various senior reservoir engineering positions covering most of BP’s operating areas worldwide. Most recently he has been a Principal Reservoir Engineer with Senergy.

Mr. Brealey graduated from Oxford University with an MA in Engineering Science. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Dave Faure

Assistant General Counsel & Secretary

Mr. Faure has over 17 years experience practicing oil and gas law. Prior to joining Transocean in 1996, he worked for Texaco Inc. in New Orleans, London and New York, with primary responsibility for upstream operations in the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, Europe and Southeast Asia.

Mr. Faure earned a BS in Accounting from Louisiana State University. Prior to earning his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Loyola University of New Orleans, Mr. Faure was employed as a Certified Public Accountant with Arthur Young & Company. He is a member of the Louisiana State Bar.

Greg May

Senior Legal Advisor

Mr. May has over 15 years of Legal Advisory experience in both the United Kingdom and U.S. He is currently licensed to practice law in Indiana State Courts and the Federal District Court, Southern District. Mr. May has provided valuable assistance during negotiations of Challenger Minerals (North Sea) Limited projects.

Mr. May earned a BS in History from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana followed by Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa.

Caroline Graham

Consulting Legal Advisor

With 20 years legal experience - including in-house and private practice – Ms. Graham provides assistance to Challenger Minerals (North Sea) Limited in relation to its upstream UK & ROI ventures since 2005/6. This involves all aspects of the company’s business, from confidentiality agreements at the start of a potential acquisition/disposal, negotiation of the sale & purchase/farm-in/out through to asset development and asset management.

Ms. Graham is a graduate of Aberdeen University with an LLB. and post-graduate Dip.L.P.

Paul Nielsen

Contracts Manager

Mr. Nielsen joined CMI in 1999 as a Senior Landman and was promoted to Land Manager in 2003 and to his current position in 2004. Prior to joining CMI, Mr. Nielsen was VP of Trust Oil, Gas & Real Estate for River Oaks Trust Company/Compass Bank. He has also held Landman positions as an independent as well as with LL&E and Exxon.

Mr. Nielsen is a member of the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL), the Professional Landmen's Association of New Orleans (PLANO) and the Houston (HAPL), West Houston (WHAPL) and North Houston (NHAPL) local landmen's associations. He served as HAPL's President in 1992-93 and received its Outstanding Landman Award in 1993, and the same award from WHAPL for 2006-07. He has been a Certified Professional Landman (CPL) since AAPL established the program in 1980. He is also a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN), the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the Houston Producers' Forum. HIs Landnews newsletter via email/website is relied upon by the land profession nationally with circulation of 9000, for which he has received industry service awards for AAPL, HAPL and WHAPL.  In 2009 he was one of the founders of ADAM-Houston Energy Network.

Mr. Nielsen holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Houston and a JD from the University of Texas at Austin. He has been a member of the State Bar of Texas since 1973 and is also a member of the Houston Bar Association and its Oil, Gas & Mineral Law section, for which he served as a Council member during 1990-1994.

Greg Sampson

International Negotiator (Europe-Africa)

Mr. Sampson joined Challenger Minerals (North Sea) Limited in 2003 as a Senior Landman and was promoted to his current position in July 2004. His experience prior to joining CMI consisted of all aspects of land work including exploration/production and acquisition/divestiture. Prior to joining CMI Mr. Sampson was the Vice President -Land for Panaco, Inc. and has also held Land positions with Norcen Explorer, American Exploration Company and Pacific Enterprises Oil Co.

Mr. Sampson holds a bachelor’s degree in Business from Oklahoma State University and a Petroleum Land Management (PLM) from Oklahoma University. He is a member of the International Petroleum Negotiators, the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL) and the Houston Association of Professional Landmen (HAPL). He has been a Certified Professional Landman with AAPL since 1990.

Martin Jones

International Negotiator (Europe-Africa)

Dr. Jones joined CMI in 2006 as part of the Challenger Minerals (North Sea) Limited team. His efforts are focused on business development and negotiating contracts in the North Sea and other International arenas. Prior to joining CMNSL, Dr. Jones worked for Amerada Hess and British Petroleum in a number of management and reservoir engineering positions around the world.

Dr. Jones has earned several degrees from Imperial College in London, including an ARCS and a BSc in Physics, and both a DIC and a PhD in Applied Physics. He is a Chartered Physicist (C.Phys.) and Member of the Institute of Physics (MinstP) and won BP’s prestigious Tallow Chandlers Award for research into Safety Physics. He is currently a member of the SPE, PESGB and AIPN.

Jim Bibby

Senior Landman (Americas)

Mr. Bibby’s background includes 34 years in various land positions. Joining CMI in August 2005, Mr. Bibby previously worked for Kerr McGee, Westport Resources, Equitable Production Company, Equitable Resources Exploration, Union Drilling and the State of West Virginia.

Mr. Bibby’s is a Certified Professional Landman, having received his certification from the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL) in March, 1991. While attending West Virginia University, he earned a B.A. in Political Science, followed by a Masters of Public Administration. His most recent degree, a Masters in Liberal Arts in International Studies, was received in 2002 from St. Thomas University in Houston. His professional affiliations include membership in the AAPL, the Houston Association of Professional Landmen, the Petroleum Landmen's Association of New Orleans and the North Houston Association of Professional Landmen.

George Worsham

Senior Landman (Americas)

Mr. Worsham’s background includes 30 years in various Landman positions. Before joining CMI in November 2008, Mr. Worsham was Vice President – Land for Platinum Energy Resources, Inc. and also held Land positions with Fairways Offshore Exploration, Inc., Statoil Exploration, U.S., Inc., Ashland Exploration, Inc., Inexco Oil Company, Terra Resources, Conoco and other positions as an independent.

Mr. Worsham earned a BBA from Sam Houston State University. His professional affiliations include memberships in the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL) and Houston Association of Professional Landmen (HAPL). He served in various executive offices and committees with the HAPL and on several committees with the AAPL. Mr. Worsham received the certification of Certified Professional Landman in 1987.

Graham Smith

Senior Landman/Scout (Americas)

Mr. Smith’s 39 years of offshore and onshore oil and gas experience has contributed greatly to CMI obtaining leads which have resulted in many successful projects. Prior to joining CMI in 1997, Mr. Smith worked for Amoco.

Mr. Smith earned a BBA from the University of Southeastern Louisiana. His professional affiliations include membership in the American Association of Professional Landmen, the Professional Landmen Association of New Orleans, the International Oil Scouts Association and the Offshore Oil Scouts Association.

Philip Gabbard

Manager Geoscience (Asia-Pacific)

Mr. Gabbard joined CMI in 2003 after amassing 24 years of experience at ConocoPhillips. During his tenure there, he worked as a geoscientist, Team Leader, and Supervisor on Exploration and Development teams in the Gulf of Mexico, South Louisiana, and ArkLaTex. In addition, he served as Phillips Geoscience Liaison in the administration of a large North American drilling program in partnership with Opicoil (Taiwan) and Hyundai Corporation (Seoul). He has also served recently as Asset Team Manager in Venezuela, overseeing the activities of a multicultural Exploration Team. At CMI, Mr. Gabbard's primary emphases are on prospect evaluation and risk assessment by performing workstation-based, integrated reviews utilizing both seismic and well data.

Mr. Gabbard received a BS degree in Geology from Abilene Christian University in 1980, and is a Certified Professional Geologist. He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Houston Geological Society.

Mike Deming

Senior Geophysicist Asia-Pacific Region

Mr. Deming has 30 years of exploration and production experience in both U.S. domestic and international endeavors. His main expertise is in seismic interpretation, basin modeling and RISK assessment. Previous employment was with Amoco Production Company, Phillips Petroleum and Swift Energy International.

Mr. Deming has a B.S. Degree in “Earth Science” from Missouri State University and a M.S. in “Geology and Geophysics” from the University of Missouri. He is a Certified Petroleum Geologist (#5525) with the American Association of Petroleum Geologist, a Certified Earth Scientist (#2697) with the Society of Professional Earth Scientist, and a State of Texas Licensed Professional Geoscientist (#1277).

Ian Lisseter

Senior Geologist (Europe-Africa)

Mr. Lisseter has over 33 years experience in the international exploration business. A foundation in wellsite geology lead to an international career with Conoco, initially as an exploration geologist in the UK North Sea and then periods in Sicily, the Netherlands, Egypt’s Western Desert and then Houston to work on West African deep water prospectivity. Recent North Sea experience has focused upon frontier acreage in the Central North Sea and the West Shetlands Basin.

Mr. Lisseter is a graduate of Aberdeen University with a B.Sc in Geology and an M.Sc in Petroleum Exploration Studies. Professional affiliations include membership in the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain.

Kevin Wallace

Senior Geologist (Europe-Africa)

Mr. Wallace’s 31 years in US petroleum exploration and development enhances the experience level at CMI. Prior to joining CMI, he worked for Anadarko in several key geological and management positions. He also worked for Union Pacific Resources, Anschutz Exploration Corporation, Wainoco Oil & Gas Company and Amoco Production Company in a variety of geological and supervisory roles.

Mr. Wallace earned a BS in Geology from the University of Missouri followed by a MS in Geology from the University of New Orleans. He is a Licensed Professional Geologist in Wyoming and Texas as well as an expert geological witness in Louisiana, Wyoming and Colorado. He is a member of the AAPG, the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain, the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists and the Houston Geological Society.

Eric Ritchie

Senior Geologist (Americas)

Mr. Ritchie has over 27 years in the petroleum industry exploring the offshore Gulf of Mexico and southern United States onshore and evaluating international opportunities. Prior to joining CMI, he worked for Pogo Producing Co./Plains Exploration, Samedan Oil Corp./Noble Energy, Petrobras, McMoRan, Chevron and the Minerals Management Services (MMS) in a variety of geological and supervisory roles.

Mr. Ritchie earned a BS and MS in Earth Sciences from the University of New Orleans (LSU System). He is a current member of the Houston Geological Society and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

Ron Ramsey

Consulting Geophysicist (Americas)

Mr. Ramsey is a results-oriented, self-motivated Explorationist with over 38 years of exploration experience in the Gulf of Mexico and selected foreign basins. Having joined CMI in 2000, his previous experience includes eighteen years with Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corporation, including eight years as Offshore Gulf of Mexico Exploration Manager, culminating as Director of the North America Region E&P Acquisitions. Other employment experience includes two years of International Exploration work with Marathon Oil Company, five years International and Domestic Exploration with Continental Oil Company and five years Gulf Coast Exploration with Texaco, Inc.

Mr. Ramsey is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Houston Geologic Society. He received his BS degree in Geology from Waynesburg College in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania.

Gordon Murdoch

Consulting Geophysicist (Europe-Africa)

Mr. Murdoch started consulting for Challenger Minerals (North Sea) Limited in 2006 bringing over 31 years of international experience that includes seismic interpretation from wildcat exploration through all phases of field appraisal, unitization, development, to equity negotiations on mature producing fields.

Mr. Murdoch earned a BS with honors in Geology from Aberdeen University. Previous experience includes work at Helix RDS, BP Exploration, Amerada Hess, and Britoil Plc. He is a member of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB).

Ron Smith

International Business Development

Mr. Smith has over 31 years of both domestic and international experience in the energy industry. His experience includes domestic and international experience in the areas of business development, energy finance, acquisitions and divestitures. His international experience includes work in Russia, China, Chile, Argentina, Guatemala and Turkey. Prior to being retained by CMI, he worked for a number of companies including Anderman International Corp., Apache Corp. and Wells Fargo Bank.

Mr. Smith holds an M.B.A.-Finance and a B.A., both from the University of Kansas.

Torey Magee

Business Analyst

Ms. Magee joined the CMI team in 2004 overseeing the weekly compilation and distribution of the CMI prospect data to joint venture partners. As CMI’s Business Analyst she has contributed greatly to the expansion and organization of the company's statistical database. She also works closely with regulatory consultants to ensure that staff members are up to date on their spill management training.

Ms. Magee earned a BBA in General Business Administration from Mississippi State University and a MBA from Our Lady of the Lakes San Antonio.

Aimee Dobbs

Administrative Manager

Ms. Dobbs has over 20 years in the oil and gas industry in a number of various capacities. Her current role includes the research, design, and animation of PowerPoint presentations for various company and industry-related events. She is also responsible for website maintenance and production of related marketing materials as well as supervision of CMI’s administrative staff.

Ms. Dobbs earned a Bachelor degree in General Studies from Louisiana State University. Prior to joining CMI, she worked 4 years for the parent company, Transocean Inc., and also 11 years for Diamond Offshore.

Al Schneider

Accounting Manager

Mr. Schneider joined Challenger Minerals Inc. in 1982 and has served in a number of accounting positions with increasing responsibility. He was promoted to his current position in 1993 with accounting responsibility for the oil and gas operations of CMI and related companies.

Mr. Schneider holds a BBA degree in Accounting from Texas A & M University. He also is a CPA and a member of the Texas Society of CPA’s and its local Houston Chapter. Before joining CMI, Mr. Schneider was employed by Texaco Inc.

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George Fraser

Accountant

Mr. Fraser has been with Challenger Minerals for eight years, during which time he has developed a customized Access oil and gas program for Challenger’s accounting reports. He is also responsible for revenue accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, financial statements, and cash entries. He is completing his CPA and is interested in Geology, Engineering and all sciences.

Mr. Fraser earned an accounting degree from the University of Houston. His previous experience includes both accounting and purchasing work for two years at Noble Drilling.