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
Mr. Boone has over 28 years of broad Canadian and international energy experience in the upstream industry with past positions including President, Offshore and International Operations for EnCana Corporation; Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of PanCanadian Energy and co-founder, President, and a director of Escavar Energy, a private oil and gas company. Mr. Boone holds a Civil Engineering degree from Queen’s University. He is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta and is Chairman of the Canadian Association of the World Petroleum Council.
Fred Dyment
Mr. Fred Dyment has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. As Executive Chairman, Mr. Dyment will provide direction and leadership to management and will chair the Board. 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, ZCL Composites Inc., 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 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 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rockcliff Group Limited, a private corporation actively involved in the strategic planning and corporate development of its investee companies, primarily in the mining sector. He is on the Advisory Board of Metalmark Capital LLC (formerly Morgan Stanley Capital Partners) and serves on the Board of a number of public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations. Until 2003, Mr. Oliphant was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Barrick Gold Corporation, and he served in senior financial positions since joining the company in 1987 prior to being appointed Chief Executive Officer in 1999. Mr. Oliphant holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Accountant.
William Wallace
Mr. Wallace has over 40 years industry experience and has served in various executive management positions. He was President and Chief Operating Officer of Barrett Resources/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.
