After working on an architecture degree and watching some very talented colleagues fail to find decent jobs, I changed direction and received my undergraduate degree in Petroleum Land Management from the University of Oklahoma. After graduating, I went to work for Getty Oil Company in Oklahoma City. Following Texaco’s acquisition of Getty in 1985, I accepted a job with Conoco and began what turned out to be a 31 year career of interesting and challenging assignments in the US, Europe and Asia.

It seems that all of the greatest challenges can be tied back to the low commodity prices. Uncertainty about global supply and demand leads to concerns about price stability which leads to limited access to capital and risk aversion. The inability or unwillingness to fund new developments and the flight from exploration will likely yield supply and price consequences in the near future.

SEA Dragon is focused on SEA Asia, because that is where we see the greatest opportunity. The region is undergoing a dramatic change in the profiles of investors. Majors and mid-cap independents that had long been the dominant players are redesigning their strategies and pulling back to core areas elsewhere. We believe that this shift will lead to opportunities for smaller, more cost effective and nimble companies to fill that void.

I would change the fiscal and regulatory regimes to make them more progressive and flexible to incentivize new investment.

We are a very new start-up, so our priorities are to identify and acquire value adding E&P opportunities. Of course, securing investors that share our vision is crucial and is our current priority.

We believe that the depth of experience within our team, together with our focus on domestic natural gas in the countries and basin we know well differentiates SEA Dragon.

Experienced, energetic and innovative team committed to building a domestic gas-focussed, value adding portfolio in SE Asia.

We would hope that attendees would recognize the depth of SEA Dragon’s experience, the strength of our strategy and current window of opportunity that exists in the region.

It’s rather difficult to choose a single achievement, but certainly very high on the list would be starting ConocoPhillips’ business in Vietnam in the mid-1990s through a mix of quality exploration and development opportunities and building that business into one that was ultimately sold for $1.3B.

I always admired a former ConocoPhillips executive that I worked with that could adapt and flourish in almost any situation. Whether he was meeting a prime minister, difficult negotiations with an NOC or playing pool with a bar girl he was always comfortable, engaging and able to make a connection.

It wasn’t from a mentor, but a quote from Stephen King about hard work resonates for me. “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”

Don’t get discouraged by the current volatility in the market. Keep your head down, work hard and always look for opportunities to learn.

I own a rubber plantation in Thailand.

Playing golf or at the beach.

I have a beach house in Maine in the US. I always love my time there.

The Lexus and the Olive Tree

Shawshank Redemption

Water, fire and Jessica Alba