Board of Directors
WesternZagros’ Management and Board of Directors possess extensive experience in the resource sector, both domestic and international, and have a history of value creation.
David Boone
David Boone is an oil and gas executive with over 30 years of Canadian and international experience in the upstream industry. Mr. Boone held various positions including responsibility for Operations and New Ventures over a lengthy career with Imperial Oil. He subsequently held the role of Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of PanCanadian Energy and then President, Offshore and International Operations for EnCana Corporation which formed from the merger of PanCanadian and Alberta Energy Company. He went on to co-found Escavar Energy, a private oil and gas company, acting as President and Director. Since 2008, Mr. Boone has been President & CEO of Barrick Energy Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation. Mr. Boone holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering from Queen’s University. He is a graduate of the executive MBA program at the Darden Business School, University of Virginia, and a member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta. He is past Chairman of the Canadian Association of the World Petroleum Council and remains active with this international organization.
David Cook
David Cook is an oil and gas executive with over 20 years of international experience in the upstream industry. Since 2010, Mr. Cook has been Executive Officer and Head of Oil and Gas for the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA). Prior to joining TAQA, Mr. Cook was Vice President for BP Russia, responsible for BP’s non-TNK-BP exploration and production activities in Russia. He has held a variety of global technical, commercial and managerial positions based from the United States, United Kingdom and Russia, as well as Board of Director roles. Mr. Cook holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geophysics and a PhD in Geological Sciences from Michigan State University.
Fred Dyment
Mr. Fred Dyment has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He spent the majority of his career at Ranger Oil Limited holding the positions of Controller, Vice President Finance, Chief Financial Officer and, finally, Chief Executive Officer. After Ranger Oil was sold to Canadian Natural Resources in 2000, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Maxx Petroleum Company from 2000 to 2001. Mr. Dyment served as Governor of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) from 1995 to 1997. He serves on the Board of Directors of Tesco Corporation, ARC Energy Trust and Transglobe Energy Corporation. He holds a Chartered Accountant designation.
John Frangos
Mr. Frangos was a co-founder of Western Oil Sands. From 2002 to 2005, he served as Western’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and played a key role in negotiations with the Kurdistan Regional Government. Prior to forming Western, Mr. Frangos was employed with BHP and predecessor corporations for 28 years and was Vice-President, International Business Development for BHP’s Minerals Business Unit. He holds a Diploma in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, an Associate Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration degree.
Simon Hatfield
Mr. Simon Hatfield has over 30 years of international and domestic experience in technical, managerial and executive positions with Imperial Oil, Exxon Production Research Company, Petro-Canada, Chauvco Resources and Talisman Energy and has extensive experience in Iraq since 1995. Mr. Hatfield initiated the Kurdistan opportunity for WesternZagros and led the technical and business process which successfully concluded the signing and ratification of the EPSA. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Geology with Physics, a Masters of Science degree in Geology and completed the Executive Development Program at the University of Calgary. He is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.
Jim Houck
Mr. Houck is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Churchill Corporation. Prior to that, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Western Oil Sands from April 2005 to October 2007. Prior to joining Western Oil Sands, he was a principal of FrontStreet Partners, a U.S.-based, privately-held investment firm and, prior to that, Mr. Houck spent the majority of his career with ChevronTexaco Inc. where he held various senior level positions within the exploration and production segments, including global gas and power, business development, production and operations, research and development and strategic planning. As part of his tenure with ChevronTexaco Inc., Mr. Houck was Assistant Division Manager for all of Texaco’s U.S. producing operations, President of Texaco Development Corporation and President of Worldwide Power and Gasification. Mr. Houck has over 37 years of experience in the energy industry and he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Science from Trinity University in San Antonio and a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Houston.
Randall Oliphant
Mr. Oliphant is the Executive Chairman of New Gold Inc. He is also a director and the President and Chief Executive Officer of Silver Bear Resources Inc. Mr. Oliphant is on the Advisory Board of Metalmark Capital LLC (formerly Morgan Stanley capital Partners) a New York based private equity group, and serves on the boards of WesternZagros Resources Ltd. and Franco-Nevada Corporation. Since 2003, Mr. Oliphant has served on the boards of a number of public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations. From 1999 to 2003, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Barrick Gold Corporation. Mr. Oliphant is a Chartered Accountant.
William Wallace
Mr. Wallace has over 40 years industry experience and has served in various executive management positions. He was Vice Chairman and Director of Barrett Resources and Director, President and Chief Operating Officer of Plains Petroleum Company; Regional Vice President and Vice President Exploration with Texaco; and Group Vice President of CSX Oil and Gas Company. Mr. Wallace was also a consultant for several years with The Beacon Group where he assisted in identifying investment opportunities for a billion dollar energy capital fund. He brings a wealth of international exploration experience and board expertise to WesternZagros. Mr. Wallace lived and worked abroad for 16 years and supervised international operations in Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, New Zealand, Australia and Pakistan. He has also served on the board of directors of several public companies including Kerr McGee and Markwest Hydrocarbons. Mr. Wallace earned a M.Sc. in Geology from Stanford University and holds an undergraduate degree in Geology from Middlebury College.
